Mediterranean Chicken Thighs - One Pan Dinner

We all like a good one-pan dinner as it makes clean up easy. This recipe for Mediterranean chicken thighs is flavorful and easy to prepare. You can use legs and thighs combined, but I wouldn't recommend using breast meat as it may dry out during the longer cooking. 

Ready for the Oven

Some people call this dish simply 'chicken and rice' but it's really much more than that with flavors of the Mediterranean like olives, lemon and rosemary. It's not too far off of a classic Spanish paella although the flavors are somewhat different. It starts on the cook top and moves to the oven to finish, when you can pull together a quick salad if you prefer. You'll need a cast-iron skillet or other similar cooking vessel that is both cooktop and oven safe with lower sides if possible, as shown in the photos.

Plated

Today I'm using thighs from Cook's Venture which are small, pasture raised chickens. So two thighs per person is needed. Typical store-bought chicken thighs tend to be larger, so you may only need one per person. Decide based on the size of the chicken thighs.  

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

Dry Rub
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon chopped rosemary leaves

Chicken

4-6 large chicken thighs, skin-on and bone-in

   (or 2 small chicken thighs per person)
2 tablespoons canola/vegetable oil (not olive oil)

Rice

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 carrot, chopped small

1 celery stalk, chopped small

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 cup white wine

1 1/2 cup rice (bomba or long-grain preferred)

3 cups chicken stock (or water)

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1 cup green pitted Castelvetrano olives (optional)

1 red bell pepper, chopped large

2-4 stems of fresh rosemary

chopped parsley, for garnish

Instructions 

Combine the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl. Wash and pat the chicken thighs dry and then sprinkle with the dry rub all around, getting under the skin if you can. Place the chicken on a plate or dish with sides to catch drippings, and set in the refrigerator for  1 hour minimum or up to 4 hours maximum. 

When the chicken is about ready to cook, set an over rack in the upper-middle position and preheat the oven to 300F degrees (standard bake or roast setting with NO convection.) Set a large cast iron skillet or other low-sided cooking vessel on your cooktop over medium-high heat and add the oil. Remove chicken from refrigerator and using a dry paper towel, brush off any excess rub. (Do not rinse.)

When the skillet is hot and the oil starts to shimmer, add chicken thighs skin-side down and cook until skin is well browned, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook on the bottom side 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate skin side up and set aside. 

Add the diced onion and a dash of salt, and cook stirring regularly for 2-3 minutes. Add the carrot and celery and stir and cook for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables start to become tender. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds and pour in the white wine, and scrape up any bits stuck to the pan. Cook stirring regularly until the liquid is reduced by about half. Add the rice and stir until well coated by the ingredients in the pan. Add the chicken stock/water and stir to combine. Stir in the lemon zest and juice, the green olives and the chopped red bell pepper. Return the chicken thighs to the pan nestling them down into the stock until the browned top skin is just exposed. Tuck in the rosemary stems into the liquid where you can. 

Cover the pan and place in the oven and let cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed, about 20-30 minutes. Uncover cook for a few minutes longer until the skin is crisp, watching it carefully as it finishes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.