Meyer Lemon Chicken

From My Carolina Kitchen

2 skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts, cut in halves crosswise

2 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound small red potatoes, quartered

1 Meyer lemon, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, then remove seeds

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 cup low salt or unsalted chicken stock, divided

1 teaspoon cornstarch

2 ounces pitted olives, we used a combination of green and kalamata

2 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice

Pinch of sugar, not necessary unless you are using a regular lemon

2 tablespoons butter

Fresh parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 400°.

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet, swirl the oil around, then turn the heat to medium-high, Sprinkle chicken with salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides. Add chicken to pan, skin side down; cook 6 minutes or until skin is golden brown and crisp. Turn chicken over. Place pan in oven. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in thickest portion of chicken registers 165°.

Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Discard pan drippings (do not wipe pan clean). Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add potatoes to pan; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook potatoes on each side until done all the way through and browned. Remove potatoes from pan. Add lemon slices to pan; cook 1 minute on each side or until browned. Remove lemons from pan. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shallots and garlic; sauté 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add wine and chopped fresh thyme; cook 1 minute or until liquid almost evaporates, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.

Return potatoes and lemon slices to pan. Add 2/3 cup chicken stock, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper & cook until potatoes are completely tender. Combine remaining 1/3 cup stock with cornstarch and stir with a whisk to combine. Add cornstarch mixture and olives to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add a pinch of sugar to the lemon juice if you used a regular lemon, then add the lemon juice and butter, stirring until butter melts. Return chicken to pan, turning to coat. Sprinkle with parsley and serve right away.

Cook’s notes: Meyer lemons aren’t as tart as a regular lemon. If you use a regular lemon, add a nice pinch of sugar to the lemon juice to help replicate the milder Meyer lemon juice. Use small potatoes, or if all you can find is large potatoes, cut them into pieces the size of a quartered small potato. No matter what their size, be sure to cook the potatoes until they are cooked all of the way through when you are browning them in the first phase because they will cook only a little bit more at the end of the recipe. Our chicken breasts were huge. If yours are very small, you might want to use three breasts. If your chicken thighs are very small, I would suggest using 4 – 6. Our thighs were fairly small compared to the breasts and one thigh made a small serving.

Adapted from Cooking Light – serves 6 – 1 breast or 1 thigh per person

This delicious recipe brought to you by My Carolina Kitchen.