Braised Chicken with Fennel and Lemon

Round dish with the Braised Chicken,, Lemon and Olives, with a spoon resting in the dish.

This Braised Chicken with Lemon, Olives and Fennel is a one pot dinner, worthy of a regular place in your recipe rotation. It has bright Mediterranean flavour provided by herbs, lemon, olives and fennel, and perfectly cooked chicken. With this recipe, I will show you how to braise chicken thighs that have succulent, tender flesh, whilst also having golden brown, crispy skin.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 1 30

Servings people

Calories 789kcal

Author Alexandra Cook - It's Not Complicated Recipes

Ingredients

For Preparing the Chicken:

8 chicken thighs – skin on/bone in. About 1.2-1.4 kg of thighs. (2.6-3 lb) See Note 1
1 tablespoon olive oil - more if necessary See Note 2
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt/cooking salt - not table salt

Other Ingredients:

1 medium bulb of fennel – trimmed, outer layers removed, cut in half, core removed and sliced into 1 cm pieces (0.4")
2 medium brown/yellow onions – cut in half moons and then 1 cm slices (0.4")
1 teaspoon sea salt/cooking salt - not table salt See Note 3
3 cloves garlic – finely chopped
1 medium lemon – ends remove and sliced finely - about ½ cm slices (0.2")
2 teaspoon fresh thyme – finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup (250 ml) chicken stock
1 cup (180 g) Sicilian green olives - pitted, left whole

Instructions

20-30 minutes before cooking, remove the chicken thighs from the fridge.
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C (355 F).
Pat the chicken thighs with some paper towel. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat oil over medium-high in a large, shallow, wide frying pan that is oven safe.
Brown the chicken thighs – you can do this in two batches rather than crowd the pan - skin side down for 5-7 minutes until golden brown, and then turn over for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside, skin side up on a plate, in a single layer. (So they don't steam and the skin goes soggy.)
Add a little more oil if necessary and turn the heat down to medium. Add the onion, fennel and salt and sauté until caramelised – about 15-18 minutes. Towards the end of the cooking time, add in the garlic, and stir to ensure it doesn't burn.
Add the thyme, oregano and stock to the pan. Use a spoon/spatula to scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
Return the chicken to the pan skin side up, and arrange the lemon slices in between the chicken. (Not on the skin.)
Carefully place the dish in the oven – no lid on. Cook for 30 minutes.
Add the olives to the dish and cook for a further 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. The internal temperature of the chicken should be no lower than 75 Degrees C (165 F).
Check that the seasoning is to your liking and serve.

Video

Notes

Chicken Thighs: we recommend removing the chicken thighs from the fridge 20-30 minutes before you start cooking to ensure it cooks evenly.
Tablespoon: we use a standard Australian tablespoon which is 20 ml (4 teaspoons).
Seasoning: adjust the seasoning to your liking – we recommend using freshly ground black pepper and sea salt flakes for the best flavour. Add more herbs to taste if you prefer.
Storage: the Braised Chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Discard it if it has been sitting at room temperature for two hours or more.
Freezing: allow to cool completely before storing in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Be sure to label and date the container as frozen dishes can be difficult to identify.
Reheating: you can reheat the defrosted chicken in a 180 degrees C (355 F) oven for 20-30 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 75 Degrees C (165 F) is reached. When reheating, I like to remove the skin and take the chicken off the bone.
Serving sizes: this recipe is based on a serving of two chicken thighs per person. The nutritional information is an estimate only and doesn't include any side dishes.

Nutrition