Roasting Chicken With Olives And Fresh Thyme Food

ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH TOMATOES, OLIVES, AND FETA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine chicken, oil, tomatoes, olives, shallots, and thyme in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and spread chicken mixture, skin side up, in a single layer. Roast until a thermometer inserted into thickest parts of the thighs (do not touch bones) reaches 165 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a platter and loosely cover with foil. Return vegetables to oven and roast until golden brown in places, about 10 minutes more. Transfer vegetables and accumulated juices to platter with chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with mint and feta.

BRAISED CHICKEN LEGS AND THIGHS WITH TOMATOES, POTATOES, OLIVES AND CAPERS

Steps:

• Let the chicken come to room temperature, then pat the pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow, flat container and dredge the chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess. Set aside.
• In a large heavy-bottomed skillet or a Dutch oven designed for braising, heat the oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the butter, let it melt and heat until it begins to turn brown, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a large platter and set aside.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the skillet and return the skillet to the stovetop over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, and cook until the wine has reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the stock and tomatoes and raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. The add the potatoes, olives, capers, and thyme, and stir to combine. Bring the liquid to a boil again, then reduce the heat to low so the liquid is simmering, and return the chicken to the pan. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender and the potatoes can be easily pierced with a knife, 25 to 35 minutes.
• To serve, place one chicken leg and one thigh in each of four shallow bowls. Spoon the sauce on top, getting some of the tomatoes, potatoes, olives and capers in each portion. Serve immediately.
• Place the chicken, carrots, celery, onion, parsley and thyme in an 8-quart stockpot. Add enough water to come up to 2 inches from the top of the pot. Place the pot over high heat and bring the liquid to a lively simmer--do not let the liquid boil. As soon as the liquid starts to simmer, reduce the heat so that you maintain a lively simmer throughout. (This could be anywhere from low to medium heat depending on the strength of your range.) Skim off any gray scum that floats to the top of the stock. Cook the stock, uncovered, for about 2 1/2 hours -- it should reduce in volume by one-quarter to one-third. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl or clean stockpot, pressing on the solids in the strainer to extract all the liquid. If you like, season with salt to taste--I prefer to keep my stock salt-free.
• Use right away or transfer to air tight containers and refrigerate or freeze. The stock will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.

THE BEST ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Mix butter, garlic, thyme, rosemary, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in a bowl.
• Loosen skin on chicken breast; rub butter mixture between skin and breast meat. Press on the skin to distribute evenly. Rub oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper all over; place lemon halves inside cavity. Set in a baking pan.
• Roast in the preheated oven, basting after 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Let rest before carving, about 15 minutes.

ROASTING CHICKEN WITH OLIVES AND FRESH THYME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Remove giblets from body cavity of chicken. Discard or save for stock. In a small bowl, using a fork, mash butter with thyme. Rub mixture all over chicken skin. Place chicken in a small roasting pan or in bottom of a broiling pan. Slowly pour wine over chicken.
• Roast uncovered, in center of 375F oven for 30 minutes. Remove pan and baste chicken wet pan juices. Stir olives into juices and return to oven.
• Roast uncovered until leg moves easily or an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of the thigh reaches 160F, from 30-45 minutes. Baste occasionally.
• Remove chicken to a cutting board. Loosely cover with foil and let stand for 5 minutes before carving. Skim any visible fat from pan juices, then spoon juices and olives over individual servings of chicken.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH GARLIC AND THYME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Let chicken stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Rub chicken all over with cut side of garlic. Season cavity with salt and pepper; stuff with garlic halves and thyme. Brush chicken with butter; generously season with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken to a rimmed baking sheet. Cross legs, and tie with kitchen twine.
• Roast chicken, basting after 30 minutes, until skin is crisp and golden and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh reaches 165, about 1 hour. Let stand for 10 minutes before carving. Garnish with thyme.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND FRESH HERBS

Steps:

• Please note you won't use the entire bunches of both herbs, but you do need a fair amount.
• Preheat oven to 400°F, have ready a shallow roasting pan.
• Cut the potatoes, sweet potatoes and parsnips into chunks about one-inch square.
• Place the potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, two onions (peeled and quartered) and 4 of the garlic cloves in the shallow roasting pan; sprinkle generously with coarse (kosher) salt and freshly ground black pepper, then drizzle with a few teaspoons of olive oil; toss with your hands to coat all the veggies.
• Nestle one sprig of fresh rosemary and one sprig of thyme into the veggies, then set pan aside.
• On a cutting board, quarter one of the lemons (unpeeled) into wedges, slice the remaining 2 garlic cloves in half (leave skins on), then place the remaining onion quarters beside them, along with several sprigs of fresh rosemary and fresh thyme; sprinkle these items generously with salt and pepper.
• Traditionally, you salt and pepper the inside of a chicken to be roasted; I find this very awkward to do so I salt and pepper what I'm going to stuff inside the bird, instead.
• Now stuff all into the cavity of the chicken and then truss (tie up with kitchen string) the bird, if desired (it's not necessary); my grocery store sells birds already trussed so I just have to slip the tips of the drumsticks out from the under the string then tuck them back in when I'm done.
• Place chicken atop the vegetables in the roasting pan.
• Juice the remaining lemon; chop up some fresh rosemary and fresh thyme.
• Rub the juice all over the chicken, then drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over the bird; sprinkle with the fresh herbs, then the paprika, then the salt and pepper.
• Roast in preheated oven for 40 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375°F and continue to roast another 30 minutes or so, until the juices around the thigh run clear; a smaller bird may only take another 20 minutes, while a larger bird could require another 40 minutes.
• When chicken is done, remove it to a cutting board and cover with a tent of foil to keep warm; let chicken sit for 15 minutes before carving.
• While chicken is resting, give the veggies a good stir in the roasting pan (there will be lots of flavourful chicken juices in the pan) and return to oven.
• After chicken has rested, carve bird, place on platter, remove veggies from oven, and serve.
• This smells incredible as it roasts, so expect the folks at your dinner table to be extremely eager to dig in!

ROAST CHICKEN WITH OLIVES, GARLIC, AND THYME

Steps:

• Make vinaigrette: Whisk together the lemon juice, honey, and shallot in a small bowl. Slowly add the oil in a thin stream, whisking constantly until emulsified. Season with the salt and pepper.
• Make chicken: Rinse the chicken pieces under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place in a baking dish large enough to hold the pieces in a single layer.
• In a small bowl, combine the vinaigrette with the lemon zest, olives, garlic, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Pour the mixture over the chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Heat oven to 425°F Season the chicken with the pepper and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Roast until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 375°F Continue to roast until the chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes more.
• Spoon the olives and pan juices over the chicken and serve.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Slash each piece of chicken through the skin a few times, about 1 inch deep. Season with the salt and pepper and place in a large bowl or large resealable plastic bag. Whisk lemon juice, orange juice, honey, garlic, thyme, sumac and 3 tablespoons olive oil in a bowl to combine. Add lemon slices, apricots, olives and olive brine. Pour the marinade over the chicken and cover tightly or remove as much air as possible before sealing it. Set on a small sheet pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours, turning the bag from time to time.
• Position a rack 8 inches from the broiler heat source. Place an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 450 degrees. Toss shallots with remaining tablespoon oil and spread out on a large sheet pan, cut sides down. Place on the lower rack and cook, turning once, until starting to turn golden, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and use your hands and a slotted spoon to scoop the chicken, apricots, lemon slices and olives onto the pan, reserving the marinade. Arrange in an even layer with the chicken skin side up and return to the oven. Cook for 15 minutes, baste the chicken with the drippings, and cook until chicken juices run clear, about 10 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the oven. Heat the broiler to high.
• Pour the reserved marinade and wine over the chicken, and broil until the chicken is browned and the liquid is thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. If the apricots start to get too dark, turn them over in the sauce. Transfer to a platter. If you used chicken breasts, cut them in half. Pour the sauce over everything or serve it on the side.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH OLIVES AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Slide hand between chicken skin and meat over breast and legs to form pockets. Spread 4 tablespoons olive paste over breast and leg meat of chicken. Spread remaining 2 tablespoons olive paste in cavity of chicken. Place bay leaves in cavity. Tie legs together to hold shape. Rub olive oil into chicken skin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons thyme. Place chicken in large roasting pan.
• Place potatoes in large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper to taste and toss to coat. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons thyme. Add potatoes to pan with chicken. Roast 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and roast 1 hour longer. Add olives to pan. Continue roasting until juices run clear when chicken is pierced in thickest part of thigh, basting occasionally with pan juices, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to platter. Surround with potatoes and olives. Sprinkle with additional thyme. Pour chicken pan juices into large cup and degrease. Serve chicken, passing pan juices separately.