Chicken with Lemon and Fennel

Here is a recipe that is an amalgamation of a couple of recipes and some imagination. I love fennel and this recipe combines fennel, lemon and hot pepper – a really good combination.

What you’ll need
A Sauté pan
A Roasting pan

Ingredients:

4-6 whole chicken legs or thighs
2 large fennel bulbs – bulbs and fronds (fronds will be used for marinating) fennel should be cored and sliced
1 large yellow onion – halved and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 lemons
2 chili peppers like jalapeño peppers – chopped
1 small bag of tiny red potatoes
1 cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper
Olive oil (EVOO)

Combine in a bowl the fennel fronds, the chili peppers, 1/2 lemon, 2 tablespoons of EVOO and salt & pepper. Put everything into a Ziplock bag (or nonreactive bowl) and marinate for two to four hours. Don’t let the chicken sit much more then four hours since acidity of the lemon can “cook” the chicken and give it an odd texture.

When you are ready, preheat the oven to 425 degrees and start to brown up the onions and fennel with salt and pepper and another squeeze of lemon. Sauté for about ten minutes and then add the garlic. Cook for another five minutes. When everything is nicely caramelized transfer everything from the pan onto a plate and set aside. Remove the chicken from the marinade (don’t worry if pepper and fennel are stuck to the skin, they will be delicious when cooked) and brown the chicken in the same pan as the fennel. This time I used whole legs, but you can use thighs.

Cover the mini potatoes in a pot with water and bring to a boil. Salt the water and let them boil for about ten minutes. When done (they can be a little firm since they will cook again in the oven) rinse them in a colander. Taste one for salt, you can add salt while they are warm.

Now you are ready to assemble. In the bottom of the roasting pan put all the potatoes – make sure they are in one layer. Place your chicken on top of the potatoes and now add the onion and fennel mixture on top. Slice the lemon and lay them on the top of everything and pour the cup of chicken broth into the pan. Cook for about forty-five minutes. Everything should be browned, and the chicken should be cooked through. You can use a meat thermometer – this is where I use a meat thermometer to be safe – the internal temperature on the chicken should be between 165 – 170 degrees. Take it out of the oven and cover with foil and let it rest for at least fifteen minutes.

I served the chicken with grilled radicchio and endive.

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Chicken with fennel and lemon

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Serves: 4 - 6

Prep Time: 25 minutes – Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Here is a recipe that is an amalgamation of a couple of recipes and some imagination. I love fennel and this recipe combines fennel, lemon and hot pepper – a really good combination.

Ingredients

• 4-6 whole chicken legs or thighs
• 2 large fennel bulbs – bulbs and fronds (fronds will be used for marinating) fennel should be cored and sliced
• 1 large yellow onion – halved and sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 lemons
• 2 chili peppers like jalapeño peppers - chopped
• 1 small bag of tiny red potatoes
• 1 cup chicken stock
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil (EVOO)

Instructions

1

Combine in a bowl the fennel fronds, the chili peppers, 1/2 lemon, 2 tablespoons of EVOO and salt & pepper. Put everything into a Ziplock bag (or nonreactive bowl) and marinate for two to four hours. Don’t let the chicken sit much more then four hours since acidity of the lemon can “cook” the chicken and give it an odd texture.

2

When you are ready, preheat the oven to 425 degrees and start to brown up the onions and fennel with salt and pepper and another squeeze of lemon. Sauté for about ten minutes and then add the garlic. Cook for another five minutes. When everything is nicely caramelized transfer everything from the pan onto a plate and set aside. Remove the chicken from the marinade (don’t worry if pepper and fennel are stuck to the skin, they will be delicious when cooked) and brown the chicken in the same pan as the fennel. This time I used whole legs, but you can use thighs.

3

Cover the mini potatoes in a pot with water and bring to a boil. Salt the water and let them boil for about ten minutes. When done (they can be a little firm since they will cook again in the oven) rinse them in a colander. Taste one for salt, you can add salt while they are warm.

4

Now you are ready to assemble. In the bottom of the roasting pan put all the potatoes – make sure they are in one layer. Place your chicken on top of the potatoes and now add the onion and fennel mixture on top. Slice the lemon and lay them on the top of everything and pour the cup of chicken broth into the pan. Cook for about forty-five minutes. Everything should be browned, and the chicken should be cooked through. You can use a meat thermometer - this is where I use a meat thermometer to be safe - the internal temperature on the chicken should be between 165 - 170 degrees. Take it out of the oven and cover with foil and let it rest for at least fifteen minutes.