Sheet Pan · All year
Mediterranean Sheet-Pan Chicken Thighs
Fennel, orange, green olives, and chickpeas. A different pan from the Greek one: no potato, no feta.
About 1 hour · Serves 6 · 6 plates
“He causes grass to grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate.”
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, about 3 pounds
- 2 fennel bulbs, cut into wedges, fronds saved
- 1 orange
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 3 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 tsp fine salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup Castelvetrano or other green olives
- 1 can of chickpeas, 15 ounces, drained and patted dry
Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 425°F. Cut half the orange into thin slices and juice the other half. Toss the fennel with 2 tablespoons of the oil, the salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary. Spread it on a sheet pan and lay the orange slices among it.
- 2
Pat the thighs dry. Rub them with the remaining oil and set them skin side up on the fennel.
- 3
Roast 25 minutes. Add the olives and the dried chickpeas in the gaps. Roast 15 to 20 minutes more, until a thigh reads 175°F and the fennel is tender and browned at the edges.
- 4
Squeeze the orange juice over the pan. Chop the fennel fronds, if they are still fresh, and scatter them on. The chickpeas should be a little crisp, not stewed.
From the kitchen
- Wet chickpeas steam. Dry them in a towel before they go on the pan.
- This is the pan to make when the Greek potatoes feel too heavy. Bread on the side is enough starch.
My note
Kept on this device, beside the recipe, for the next time you cook it.
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