Chicken that Fancies Itself Spanish with Lemons, Onions & Olives
The roster of ingredients includes: cilantro, lemon, green olives, pecorino, tomato, smoked paprika, cinnamon, onion, flour, white wine, fennel and garlic.
Prepping the veggies.
You dredge the chicken pieces in flour mixed with pecorino, which gives the browned chicken a lovely crisp crust.
Our trusted flour measuring technique: the dump and smooth.
We use whole lemon quarters, but if yours have a lot of pith, you may want to use just the juice.
Notice our matching outfits? Unplanned.
A little smoked paprika goes into the dredging mixture, and then more goes into the sauce.
Amanda is always generous with the ground pepper, which the rest of us love!
See the shreds of pecorino in there? They're about to work their magic on the chicken.
Look at that gorgeous brown skin!
The lemons, onion, fennel, olives and the rest of the paprika go into the pot to soften and meld.
An occasional stir helps the veggies cook down more evenly.
And in about 10 minutes, they look like this!
A bit of flour to thicken the sauce a little...
Then we added the tomatoes and white wine, followed by the lemon zest. We recommend adding a healthy pinch or two of salt at this point, but taste first!
Amanda just said something funny. Little devil.
Share
- ✉
-
Author Notes: This recipe was inspired by a GOOP newsletter. So shoot me; it's good! The original called for lemons sliced paper thin and eaten whole - I find that eating lemon rind gets old quickly, but the quarters give it just as much flavor. - MeghanVK - MeghanVK
Food52 Review: It was the attention to detail in MeghanVK's cleverly adapted recipe that won us over: the blend of pecorino, flour and smoked paprika used to coat the chicken that renders it shaggy and crisp when browned, the inclusion of both lemon zest and quartered lemons, a dash of cinnamon to lend toasty warmth. And lots of other Spanish flavors are there to join the party: garlic, onion, paprika, fennel, green olives, tomato, white wine. We found that the tenor of the smoky, tangy sauce depended on the quality of the lemons; if your lemons have a thick pith, you'll want to just zest them and squeeze in their juice to avoid a bitter sauce. - A&M - A&M
Serves 4-6
- 1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds, cut into parts
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/4 cup grated pecorino
- 3 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 medium lemons
- 2 large yellow onions, sliced
- 1 large fennel bulb, halved and sliced
- 12 whole garlic cloves, peeled
- 3/4 cups pitted green olives
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 cup whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine 1/2 cup of the flour, pecorino and 1 teaspoon of the smoked paprika in a large bowl. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot (a big Dutch oven, perhaps?) over medium-high heat. Dry the chicken parts thoroughly with paper towels and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper on all sides. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour and then place in your pot in batches. Allow the chicken to thoroughly brown, about 5 minutes per side. Don't crowd the pan! Remove the chicken to a plate and repeat until all of your chicken pieces are golden and crispy-looking.
- Quarter the lemons, but zest one of them first; reserve the zest. (If your lemons have a thick pith, you'll want to zest all 3 and then juice them, discarding the pith; this will help you avoid a bitter sauce.) Add the onion, quartered lemons (or zest of 2 lemons and the juice of all 3), fennel, garlic, green olives, the remaining 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika, and cinnamon to the pot; cook until softened, golden, and overall mushy-looking, about 10 minutes. Taste for salt. Sprinkle the mixture with the remaining tablespoon of flour and stir over the heat for two minutes. Add the tomatoes and the wine and bring to a boil -- let bubble away for a minute or two. Add the lemon zest.
- Place the chicken pieces back into the pot, skin side up, along with any drippings from the plate. Poke the onion/fennel/garlic/olive mixture so it surrounds the chicken on all sides. Place in the oven, uncovered, and bake for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Garnish with cilantro. Serve warm. Delicious!
- Your Best Recipe with Citrus & Olives Contest Winner!
More Great Recipes
Share a Recipe
Enter one of our contests, or share that great thing you made for dinner last night.
Add a Recipe
14 days ago Carol Pirie
This is lovely. Instead of using quartered lemons, I used two lemons, sliced very thinly, plus the zest of one lemon, plus the juice of two lemons. When I added the flour to the vegetables, I was amazed at how the silky sauce suddenly manifested... Leftovers are sublime, even at room temperature: it thinks it's ratatouille.
4 months ago Mikebny1
Make sure that if you use quartered lemons that there really is almost no pith. I made it once and one of the lemons had what I would consider medium pith and it ruined the dish. Second time around the dish was really great.
7 months ago Laurelb
Made this last night. It was good but not great. I would use boneless chicken and add something to give it more punch. The first few bites were great but it lost its wow factor after that. Used olives with pimentos and would do that again.
7 months ago Leslieswanson
This is the most delicious chicken dish. The flavor is amazing. You must try it. I used all thighs to save a little at the grocer and it turned out perfect.
9 months ago Amandadp
I'm new to Food52 and this is the first recipe I've tried - I think it's fantastic! Sometimes I'm not a fan of cooked fennel but I really like it in this. Will definitely make this again!
about 1 year ago redmaryt
Made this a few months ago, it is the best chicken I've ever made and probably the best I've ever tasted! My friend and I couldn't believe how delicious it was. I cut back on the lemon zest just a bit.
about 1 year ago cookinbklyn
This was DEELICIOUS, but I'm calling my version " chicken that fancies itself spanish/provencal" . I wanted to minimize the sour flavor and didn't have a few items on hand. Here are my mods: 1. Zest and juice only of 2 medium Meyer lemons 2. Substituted chicken broth and vermouth in equal parts for the cup of white wine 3. Substituted celery instead of fennel. 4. Used thighs and legs only 5. Used Parmesan instead of Pecorino for coating 6. Chopped cilantro and parsley in equal parts 7. Used Picholine olives (with pits) 8. Added a bayleaf to the vegetables. Served this over rice pilaf and green peas on the side. If you don't have access to Meyer lemons, I might add a carrot or perhaps an orange to counteract the acidity of the tomatoes, lemons and white wine.
over 1 year ago qtprof
Made this with preserved lemons--perfect!
over 1 year ago susan206
I liked this, but didn't love it - too much acid. I wouldn't make it again. One thing I learned from a checken recipe from the wall street journal, is that I no longer brown the chicken. It is messy and takes too much time to clean up the stove afterwards. For this recipe I just stuck the chicken on top of the onions etc and it browned as it cooked. Way easier and the chicken itself was delicious.
over 1 year ago Neal Erickson
I cooked this recipe last week with mixed results. I found the technique very good: great coating on the chicken (I used thighs) and finishing it over the vegetables uncovered in the oven produced a pleasant, creamy texture for the vegetables while the chicken skin and coating remained crisp.
However, I found the flavors wildly out of balance. Even though I used small lemons -- zested one and quartered all three -- the flavor was way too strong and overwhelmed the dish. (This became even more pronounced with reheating.) Also, I love smoked pimenton, but could not detect it much by the time the dish was done. Perhaps more could be added or added later in the cooking. One must also be careful to not add too much cinnamon -- a very small pinch will do. I also feel that the fennel really didn't add much and seemed to lose its pungency after cooking as well.
I would cook this again, but cut way back on the lemon. I might also try using potato slices with all those lovely onions instead of the fennel. I think they would have time to cook perfectly in the oven and provide a more balanced base for all the pungent flavors provided by the lemon, olives, wine and tomatoes.
over 1 year ago The Expatresse
Disaster! Wary of bitterness, I zested and juiced two lemons and only added one, in wedges, to the stew. Bitter, bitter, bitter. This is what happens when you make something new for dinner guests. The chicken was quite nice . . . I served it with a herby, chili couscous. But the vegetables were barely edible. I'll try again, but without adding any sliced lemons. Who knew?
over 1 year ago bella s.f.
Meyer lemons are marvelous in this recipe!
over 1 year ago chefpatty
Would meyer lemons be good in this recipe?
over 1 year ago culture_connoisseur
Delicious! I made this tonight and the house smelled amazing! I added mushrooms just because :)
over 1 year ago MeghanVK
I totally approve of the mushrooms :)
over 1 year ago leah_shelton_pucciarelli
Can you reccomend the type of olives preferred here? Thx!
over 1 year ago MeghanVK
I just use standard green olives - but I think any kind of green olive would be fine (picholines, cerignolas). Kalamata olives might work but the flavor would definitely be different.
over 1 year ago Judy at Two Broads Abroad
Just made this and I have to say it was extremely easy and all my guests loved it. Thanks so much.
over 1 year ago ubs2007
WOW!!!!! Made this for a dinner party and everyone was in awe! Incredible combination of flavors! Thank you so much for sharing!!!!
over 1 year ago MeghanVK
Aw yay! This many exclamation points makes me so happy :)
over 1 year ago J e t
Made this last week, and it was absolutely spectacular. I made it pretty much as written, and served with rice. Delicious!
over 1 year ago bella s.f.
WOW!!! We made this two days ago and it was absolutely delicious. I used castellano olives, those odd-colored, large green olives. They worked really well. I left the pits in. I liked the rustic feel that it gave to the dish. We had the leftovers last night. I found that with each bite I kept saying, "OMG, this is amazing! OMG, this is delicious!" I couldn't stop saying that. I could eat it again right now. I won't be able to wait too long to make this again. By the way, I served this over very velvety mashed Yukon Gold potatoes. It was a perfect fit! Creamy, rich, flavorful bliss. Meghan VK, thank you so much for creating this! By the way, it went beautifully with a bottle of Spanish Verdelho. It just seemed right to stay in the neighborhood.
over 1 year ago MeghanVK
I'm so happy it worked for you! I like it with a rioja but I will have to look for a verdelho next time.
over 1 year ago Bevi
I made this tonight and it was delicious. Instead of cutting up a whole chicken, I used organic skinless chicken breasts. Next time I will make sure to use a good Spanish olive or a Castelveltrano. Have you tried this dish with Seville oranges or a combination of lemons and Sevilles? i am curious about how that would taste. I love any dish that requires only one pot, and this was a perfect one pot wonder. Because my lemons had lots of pith, I only left in 3/4 of one lemon for the baking, and took them out for the second day of reheating. Thanks for giving me another option for chicken!
over 1 year ago MeghanVK
I think just Seville oranges would be a bit too bitter... but a combination with lemons could be really interesting. I'll have to try it sometime. My friend used Meyer lemons and said it turned out great, so I want to try that, too. In any case, glad the recipe worked for you!
over 1 year ago shoesthatilike
Made this for a dinner party on Friday night. HUGE hit. It was very easy to prep and only required one pot. I will make it again!
over 1 year ago WileyP
This sounds just wonderful, MeghanVK, and hav added the appropriate ingredients to my shopping list for next week. Thanks so much!
over 1 year ago DanU
Yum! Made this the other night. Had the leftovers last night over rice with this radish & cucumber salad - http://www.food52.com/recipes...
over 1 year ago MeghanVK
Glad you liked it!
almost 2 years ago J-Dizzle
Congrats! This recipe sounds amazing.....looking forward to making it sooner than later! yummmmm......:o)
almost 2 years ago eatatvino
One of my favorite recipes on Food52... absolutely love it :-)
about 2 years ago Diane Sirna Miller
Megan,
This recipe sounds fabulous!!! ..and I'll be trying it this week.
Thanks in advance.
diane
about 2 years ago Chef Jamie B.
One more note! I used meyer lemon pulp and juice instead of the quartered lemons, and I thought the lemon-orange flavor from the meyer lemons was great! :)
about 2 years ago MeghanVK
I'll have to try it with the Meyer lemons myself - great idea! Glad you liked it.
about 2 years ago Chef Jamie B.
This was excellent, even enjoyed as leftovers! I loved the combo of flavors and the chicken was very tender. I served it with rice, which was a delicious pairing! I will definitely be making this again!
about 2 years ago bas26
Made this last night...it really is amazing. The flavors are so wonderful and not too intense.
I'll be making this a regular in my repertoire. Can I make this without tomatoes? I am one of those people who get arthritis in my fingers when I eat tomatoes, and of course, I love them.
about 2 years ago MeghanVK
So glad you like it! You can definitely make it without the tomatoes - the original recipe that I adapted actually didn't call for them :) I would probably up the wine or add a bit of broth to make up for the lost moisture.
over 2 years ago Rzbbzr
I really enjoyed this recipe though next time I may use one less lemon (admittedly my lemons were pretty huge...might have worked better with smaller lemons.) Not to say that the lemoniness was bad...I just like a subtler flavors, I think. Also, I found that the reheat on day 2 compounded the intensity of the lemon even further. But overall, I was really happy with how it turned out! The chicken was perfectly cooked, skin crispy...and the sauce...lovely rich creamy texture.
over 2 years ago eatatvino
Made it last weekend and it was absolutely delicious! I foresee this recipe appearing frequently on my weekend menus in future :-)
over 2 years ago Fresca
I've made this twice this week. I never make anything twice ever. That is how much we love this. Thanks! :)
over 2 years ago MeghanVK
So happy to hear it!
over 2 years ago GSmodden
Ugh. I just came home and realized I forgot to get the wine for this recipe. How critical is it to this dish? Can I still do this without it, replacing it with stock or water? Or should I make a second run and get the wine?
over 2 years ago MeghanVK
I hate when that happens! Just use stock - it will still be good. You could also add a splash of dry sherry or vermouth if you have them lying around.
over 2 years ago GSmodden
Thanks! I made it with stock. It was really, really delicious. Thanks for this recipe. I'll definitely be making this again.
over 2 years ago MeghanVK
So glad to hear it was a success!
over 2 years ago TOfoodie
I made this last night and it was wonderful. What other vegetables would you recommend we add if we wanted to diversify it a bit? Thanks!
over 2 years ago MeghanVK
Great question - I think it would be delicious with leeks and/or celery, or thinly sliced carrot. I'm also thinking about incorporating squash to get through this never-ending winter - either cubes of it with all of the vegetables, or cooked spaghetti squash right before it goes into the oven.
You can also try using red wine instead of white in the sauce - very different flavor!
over 2 years ago tasty
Made this last night for dinner - only for 2, so used chicken thighs instead of whole - absolutely delicious.
over 2 years ago MeghanVK
Glad you liked it!
over 2 years ago ChefJune
I think I'm making this for Sunday dinner. I love the coating for the chicken. But I won't ruin it with a cilantro garnish...
Congrats on the win. ;)
over 2 years ago MeghanVK
I hope you like it! You could always save some of the fennel fronds and use that to gussy it up at the end - I love cilantro but I do get that it tastes a little like soap :)
over 2 years ago The force is strong with this one
Just made it and ate it and now I'm suffering an incredible case of food coma. Thanks! It was awesome!
over 2 years ago MeghanVK
So glad you enjoyed it!
over 2 years ago mrslarkin
Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.
congratulations, Meghan!
over 2 years ago MeghanVK
Thank you! I feel a little nerdy for being so excited. Hope you enjoy.
over 2 years ago Bevi
Congrats! I'm looking forward to making this.
over 2 years ago MeghanVK
I hope you do - enjoy!
over 2 years ago gingerroot
Congratulations! Looking forward to trying this.
over 2 years ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Congratulations!
over 2 years ago FrancesRenHuang
Saved in my recipes. Can't wait to make it.
over 2 years ago Wicko
Quick question: do I throw in the whole garlic cloves, crush 'em or chop 'em?
over 2 years ago MeghanVK
Just peel and leave 'em whole - they'll get very soft during the cooking process. Hope that helps!
over 2 years ago roseinparis
Congratulations!
over 2 years ago OBN
Im trying this tonight!!!! Awesome!!!!!!
over 2 years ago joshenk
Yummers!!!
over 2 years ago MikeeLikesIt
Trying it tonight--can't wait!!
over 2 years ago Melkaminski
This makes my mouth water :)
over 2 years ago healthierkitchen
MeghanVK - I'm surprised I didn't see this when you submitted it, as this sounds seriously amazing and right up my alley. Your other recipes sound great too! Best of luck!
over 2 years ago Midge
Sounds amazing and what a great name! Congrats.
over 2 years ago jmorrissey
congrats to one of my favorite chefs! can't wait to make it.
over 2 years ago Annie.Bart
Sounds awesome, but I'm going to tweak it and make it with seitan instead of chicken. Excited to try it!
over 2 years ago MeghanVK
Thanks! Please let me know how that works - my mom's a vegetarian, so I'd love to be able to share the recipe with her if it works out well for you.
over 2 years ago franbren
this looks delish
over 2 years ago cheese1227
Lovely looking chicken, even if it's got a skewed view of of its own origin! Congrats.
over 2 years ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Congrats on being a finalist! This looks super tasty!
over 2 years ago Waverly
Your recipe sounds terrific. Congratulations on being a finalist!
over 2 years ago mrslarkin
Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.
Congrats MeghanVK! This sounds really great.
over 2 years ago gingerroot
Congrats on being a finalist! I bet this is amazing and can't wait to try it.
over 2 years ago MeghanVK
Thank you! Let me know how it goes!
over 2 years ago hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.
Congrats! This sounds really delicious.