Juicy chicken thighs, tender baby artichokes, plenty of dill, and a good squeeze of lemon bring bold Mediterranean flavors to my recipe for pan roasted chicken thighs and artichokes.
Anyone who has been reading along here, will probably know that one of my favorite basic techniques is pan roasting. Especially chicken thighs!
- It’s so easy.
- Provides so much flavor.
- And is so adaptable!
I’m going to say my favorite part of pan roasting chicken thighs is how adaptable it is. So far I’ve shared my recipe for pan roasted chicken thighs with olives and my recipe for pan roasted chicken thighs dijon. Two different recipes using the same basic technique to end up with completely different flavors.
And, of course, that’s just the beginning! Today I’m all about Greek and Mediterranean influences with dill and artichokes. Next time I could go for Southwestern or Indian or Middle Eastern flavors. It keeps dinner fresh without having to always have to make something completely different.
Back to today’s version of pan roasted chicken and artichokes.
Today we’re working with baby artichokes. The great thing about baby artichokes is that they have no choke! This makes them so much easier to prep. All you need to do is trim them and pull off the outer leaves. Much simpler than having to dig around the middle to get the fuzzy choke out.
Also, with large artichokes, you basically can’t eat the leaves. Just the bottoms of the leaves are tender enough to eat. If you are prepping them for a saute all you have left is the artichoke bottom.
Baby artichokes all the way!
Once you have trimmed and prepped the artichokes (which takes me about 10 minutes), everything else goes pretty quick.
A few quartered shallots, some chopped garlic, and a little fresh dill rounds things out. I usually get all that done while I’m searing the chicken and then the artichokes.
Once the artichokes are brown, that’s when you add the Metaxa (or brandy) for a little kick! 🙂 Then chicken stock and lemon to make the sauce and into the oven to finish up.
Yum! Crispy, flavorful chicken along with tender artichokes and a great sauce for some orzo or rice. Sounds like dinner to me!
– Happy Eating, Annemarie
Looking for a new chicken recipe? Love artichokes? My pan roasted chicken and artichokes with a white wine lemon pan sauce is a great skillet dinner full of Mediterranean flavors and a great way to use fresh, baby artichokes.
- 2 lb baby artichokes
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 4 medium chicken thighs, about 1 1/2 lbs
- kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
- 4 medium shallots, quartered
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1/4 cup metaxa, or brandy
- 1 cup chicken stock, low or no sodium
- juice of one lemon, plus more for the artichoke water
- 3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped dill
Preheat oven to 450F and move the oven rack to the lower middle position.
Fill a large bowl with cold water. Add a few tablespoons of lemon juice. Take each baby artichoke and cut about 1/3 off the top. Then pull off the leaves until you are left with only the very light green to yellow tender inner leaves. Trim off the stem and cut the artichoke into quarters. As you finish each artichoke, put it in the lemon water.
Take a large, straight sided, oven safe saute pan and heat it up over medium high heat with the olive oil. Once the pan is hot and the oil is shimmery, sprinkle the chicken thighs with kosher salt and black pepper and put them, skin side down, in the pan.
Sear the chicken, skin side down, for 5 minutes then turn them and sear for another 3 minutes on the other side. Transfer the chicken to a bowl.
Drain out most of the fat in the pan, leaving about 2 tablespoons. Drain the artichokes and pat them as dry as you can. Add the artichokes to the pan along with the shallots. Cook the vegetables for 5-7 minutes stirring frequently, or until they are a little browned on each side.
Add the flour to the pan and stir it in well. Cook for 1 minute.
Add the metaxa (or brandy) to the pan. Once it is almost cooked off, about 10 seconds, add the stock and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer. Add back the chicken, skin side up, along with the garlic and dill.
Put the chicken in the oven and roast for 12-15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and reaches about 160F on a kitchen thermometer.
- For the best flavor, I like to brine the chicken before searing it instead of sprinkling it with salt. To brine the chicken, mix together 4 cups of water with 1/4 cup of kosher salt and let the chicken soak in the water for 30-45 minutes. When it's done, drain, rinse, and pat dry before proceeding with the recipe.
- For a gluten-free recipe, mix one tablespoon of cornstarch into the chicken stock instead of using the flour.
- Note that the garlic is chopped, not minced. For chopped garlic I aim for pieces from 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch (about 1 cm).
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
My daughter LOVES artichokes and these baby artichokes are just too cute! The crispy chicken skin is driving me crazy! I’m definitely making this for my daughter!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Our daughters are artichoke lovers together. 🙂 And the little artichokes are both cute and nice to work with.