Mediterranean Chicken Thighs         marydukecooks.com

The secret to getting crispy skin when pan-frying chicken is air-drying the skin. Here is how! In the morning before you go to work or the night before, salt and pepper the chicken thighs. Place them on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet- skin side up. Refrigerate for 8-24 hours. This will give the chicken time to absorb the seasoning and dry out the skin. The result is extra crispy chicken!

Two of the ingredients for this dish, olives and piquante peppers can be purchased at the olive bar at your favorite grocery store. If you have never tried them before, piquante peppers are sweet with a slight hit of heat. A real treat! This dish is ready in less than an hour.

Mediterranean Chicken Thighs

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 bone-in with skin, chicken thighs
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 small yellow onions, cut in quarters
4 shallots, cut in half
¾ cup mixed olives (green and kalamata olives)
½ cup whole pickled piquante peppers

The night before or in the morning before you go to work, sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Place thighs on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet- skin side up. Place in refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a 12-inch cast iron skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat until it ripples. Place chicken skin side down and cook 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, skin side down, for an additional 8 minutes. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Place onions, shallots, olives, and piquante peppers around thighs.

Bake in oven 10 minutes. Turn thighs skin side up and cook until a thermometer inserted in thigh registers 165ºF (about 5 more minutes).  Let chicken rest 8 minutes to redistribute juices before serving. Enjoy!

Published in The News and Neighbor on September 12, 2018