Chicken Thighs With Tomato Orzo Kalamata Olives And Feta Recipes

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.

Steps:

• First, toast the orzo. It's a bit of a pain, but it really improves the flavor. Heat a large skillet or a Dutch oven if you're so inclined (I find a reason to use my Staub cocotte for everything) over medium-high heat. Toast the orzo until it is lightly browned, but before it gets too fragrant. Spoon the orzo into a bowl and set aside. Next up is the chicken. Pat the thighs dry and season with oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet or Dutch oven on medium-high heat until it is nice and hot and beginning to smoke. Brown the chicken for roughly three minutes on each side, then remove it and set it aside. Turn the heat down a notch and add in the other tablespoon of oil and the minced garlic. Cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant, but be careful not to burn it. Then pour in the broth and throw in the tomatoes and orzo. Give the mixture a good stir and bring it to a boil. Finally, add the chicken back in, cover the skillet/Dutch oven, and let it sit on medium-low heat until the orzo is tender and the chicken is cooked through. This will take 15 minutes or so. Be sure to check on the dish from time to time as you don't want the orzo to become mushy and overcooked. When ready, turn off the heat and add in the capers, Kalamata olives, feta, and basil. Top it all off with a drizzle of nice finishing oil, give it another good stir or two and you're ready to serve!

Steps:

• Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels; season all over with salt. Arrange skin side down in a cold large cast-iron skillet. Set over medium heat and cook chicken, undisturbed, rotating pan as needed for even browning, until skin is very deep golden brown and crisp and chicken releases easily from pan, 13-16 minutes. Using tongs, transfer chicken to a plate, arranging skin side up.
• Combine tomatoes, harissa paste, vinegar, 1 oregano sprig, and ½ tsp. salt in same skillet. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes burst and their juices start to thicken, 8-10 minutes.
• Nestle chicken thighs into tomatoes, skin side up. Reduce heat to medium-low, bring to a simmer, and cook until chicken is just cooked through and flesh is no longer pink (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part near the bone will register 165°F), and tomato sauce is thickened so that a wooden spoon dragged through it leaves a trail, 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes.
• Break feta into large pieces; scatter over chicken. Some pieces will stay intact while others will soften into the sauce a little-and that's exactly what you want. Pick leaves off remaining 2 oregano sprigs and scatter on top.
• Serve with bread for sopping up any extra tomato sauce.