Mediterranean Herb Chicken
Sometimes you’re given just one piece of advice that changes your relationship with something completely. Not knowing how to cook a Chicken Thigh, I never understood its allure. “It’s more juicy, they’d say, but my ignorance around its preparation meant it never was”. Why bother then, with the strange looking Chicken Part that has too many fatty bits anyway? And then one day, our friends at Amazon sent me the wrong order, and I found myself with Thigh. Annoyed and quickly googling cooking techniques online, I found that golden nugget. Do not touch or move the Thigh once it’s in the pan. Leave it be. Reluctantly, I obliged, and although my ADHD mind found it difficult to stand still for 6 minutes, here we are with a winning Chicken Thigh dish. My kids love it, as do we.
The rest was inspired by what I have growing in the garden and the Mediterranean flavors I grew up with. Make this, you won’t regret it.
Organic Marinade Ingredients: Allow 8 hours for marinade
1 Tsp. Garlic Powder
1 Tsp. Onion Powder
1 Tsp. Ginger Powder
1 Tsp. Paprika
1 Tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp’s. Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tbsp’s. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
Organic Ingredients: Serves 4
8 Pastured Chicken Thighs , marinated
4 Cloves Garlic, peeled and crushed
2 Tbsp’s. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Avocado Oil, or Ghee for cooking
5 Sprigs/1 Tbsp. fresh Thyme, de-stemmed and chopped small
4 Sprigs/2 Tbsp’s. fresh Oregano, de-stemmed and chopped small
5 Sprigs/1/2 fresh Parsley, de-stemmed and chopped small
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 Cup Chicken Stock
Salt & Pepper, to taste
This recipe requires marination, so start the night before or the morning of. To marinate, remove Chicken Thighs from packaging and place in a glass bowl. Add Marinade Ingredients, integrate well using your hands to mix. Cover with Plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Gather your herbs. Wash and dry and remove from stems. This measures about 1/2 a cup Parsley, two tablespoons Oregano and one tablespoon Thyme. Finely chop Herbs and peel and crush Garlic in a pestle and mortar.
Heat a skillet or non stick pan to medium high heat with a little Olive Oil. Place thighs, facing down (smooth side down, wrinkly side up) into pan, and cook for six minutes. Do not touch Thighs, leave them be. Turn over and cook for a further six minutes, again, not touching or moving.
Add Garlic, Thyme, Oregano, Parsley, Salt & Pepper, and cook for one minute.
Add Lemon Juice and Chicken Stock and bring to a boil, stirring to remove any sticky bits from the bottom of your pan. Raise heat to high for a few minutes allowing the Sauce to thicken and reduce to half, tilting the pan every now and then to scoop up Sauce with your spoon and baste the tops of the Chicken, this takes me about five minutes.
Remove from heat and cover for a few minutes letting the steam settle within to ensure everything is nice and cooked, the sauce will thicken more during this process.
Home made Chili Sauce
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