Broiled Chicken Thighs with Oranges, Fennel and Green Olives

By John Willoughby and Chris Schlesinger

Broiled Chicken Thighs with Oranges, Fennel and Green Olives
Rikki Snyder for The New York Times
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(593)
Comments
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It's important to use smaller chicken thighs; if all you can get are the larger ones, it's best to cut them in half. If you don't have Maras pepper, it's worth buying, since its distinctive flavor will add depth and a sly heat to all kinds of dishes.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1bulb fennel, cored and thinly sliced
  • 1small red onion, thinly sliced
  • ⅔cup pitted green olives, halved
  • 1tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1tablespoon Maras pepper (or substitute 2 teaspoons paprika plus 1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes)
  • 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Cracked black pepper
  • 1orange, cut into eighths, but not peeled
  • 8smallish (about 5 ounces each) bone-in chicken thighs
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

293 calories; 23 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 11 grams protein; 465 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the broiler (to high if you have the option).

  2. Step 2

    Combine the fennel, onion, olives, garlic, Maras pepper and 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss gently. Spread this mixture in a 9-by-12-inch baking dish or disposable foil pan and scatter orange sections on top.

  3. Step 3

    Add the chicken and remaining tablespoon of oil to the now-empty bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Place thighs on top of fennel mixture, skin side down.

  4. Step 4

    Place under broiler with pan about 4 inches from the flame and broil for 10 minutes, turning pan front to back after 4 minutes. Turn chicken skin side up and continue to broil, switching pan back to front after about 3 minutes and broiling until the skin is crisp and dark brown and the chicken is opaque throughout (or until center of flesh registers 165 degrees on instant-read thermometer), 5 to 7 minutes more. Serve with crusty bread or couscous to soak up the juices.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
593 user ratings
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Comments

hmship

Very tasty but a little fussy to prepare as you have to watch the broiler and keep turning it. I would suggest roasting on a sheet pan instead at 425 for about 30 minutes. Cut the vegetables a little thicker so they don't burn. Put the chicken on the pan skin up and use some of the pepper on the chicken along with salt and pepper. There's no need for oil on the chicken. You'll still get nice crisp skin but without the fuss.

otto

I made this using homemade garam masala instead of the marash pepper. Maybe it was the timing, but my wife of thirty years, after a long week, commented more than a half dozen times how wonderful this was. She has never been more effusive about something I made. Accompanied it with Ina Garten's Moroccan Couscous. The easy garam masala recipe can be found on allrecipes.com All I can say fellas is, best sex I ever had!

Wende

The first time I made it, I broiled it. The second time, I roasted it in a very hot oven and found very little difference in the outcome except that there were less scorched bits from roasting.
The only olives that I think stand up to cooking are Castelveltrano and they are perfect for this recipe.
Finding the most flavorful oranges you can is key.
We love this recipe. Delicious.

SMB

The substitute maras was a bit much (only cooked 1.5 lbs of chicken) and missed the sweet notes of orange juice. Next time would cut back on maras and squeeze orange juice over veggies, then cut up the orange and add to the dish. Also my oven is way too hot to broil this. will try roasting at the suggested 425 for 30 minutes

Little Klement

This is going in my rotation and is a crowd pleaser. I feel it was a slightly different recipe the way I did it but the bones of the recipe are superb. I didn’t use oranges (I dislike warm fruit) and I did the paprika trick. I also added in regular onions and red peppers bc I had it. The flavor base to this recipe is fantastic. I am going to use this as my chicken thigh go to. TY

Brian

Will not attempt this again. The orange peel renders a bitterness which was somewhat mitigated with the addition of sherry vinegar.

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