Roast Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Green Olives

Diane Rossen Worthington has a remarkable talent for getting big flavor from very simple combinations. Seriously Simple: Easy Recipes for Creative Cooks is a fantastic cookbook, and Roast Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Green Olives is one of my favorite recipes in it.

For each recipe in the book, Diane offers ideas for different ingredients that the “creative cook” might use to change the recipe. Or she suggests a way to make a dish ahead, or a way to serve it as an appetizer.

For Roast Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Green Olives, she called for “mixed fresh herbs”, suggesting rosemary, parsley, thyme, basil, and/or oregano. I chose to make mine just with rosemary.

Diane uses a cut-up 3½ pound chicken for 4 servings; I used 1¾ pounds of chicken thighs for 2 servings. Served over a bit of steamed rice to soak up the great juices, it made a quick weeknight main course. All that was needed was a salad to complete the meal.

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Roast Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Green Olives

(Adapted from Diane Rossen Worthington’s recipe in Seriously Simple)

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(print the recipe)

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Serves 2 (double the ingredients for 4 servings)

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1½ teaspoons lemon zest (A Microplane zester works great for this.)

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, plus 1 more tablespoon for garnish

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

4 chicken thighs (about 1¾ pounds)

12 garlic cloves, peeled

½ cup chicken broth

1/3 cup pitted green olives, rinsed

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1. Preheat the oven to 425˚.

2. Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, 2 tablespoons rosemary, and a dash of salt and pepper in a small bowl.

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3. Put the chicken in an oven-proof skillet. (I used a 10-inch cast iron skillet.) Pour the lemon/herb mixture over the chicken.

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4. Add the garlic cloves to the pan.

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5. Roast for about 40 minutes, until the chicken is done.

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6. Remove the chicken from the pan to a plate. Add the chicken broth to the skillet and cook on the stovetop over medium heat for a couple of minutes, scraping up the tasty cooked bits from the bottom of the pan.

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7. Add the green olives and cook just a minute more.

8. Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with the extra tablespoon of chopped rosemary.