Claudia Roden's Chicken with Olives and Lemon

This saucy, garlicky, lusty, hassle-free bake, adapted from Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean, was inspired by “the sharp lemony flavors of one of the most famous Moroccan tagines,” as Roden wrote in her headnote. She sized it to serve 8; we’ve cut it in half to serve 4 here, but you can easily double it to serve more. It’s perfect for serving with couscous, and ideal for entertaining, as you assemble it in a snap, then shove it in the oven and forget about it while it bakes for an hour.

READ: Cookbooks We Love: ‘Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean’ is one of the revered cookbook author’s greatest volumes

Roden also offered a brilliant hack for making making couscous with the light, fluffy texture of one made traditionally, steamed two or three times in a couscoussier, made with minimum hassle. Start it when you put the couscous in the oven, and put it in the oven for the last 10 or 15 minutes of the chicken’s baking time.

RECIPE: Couscous Grains (Claudia Roden’s method)

The recipe calls for chicken thighs; if you prefer, you can use a combination of thighs and drumsticks, or whole legs.

If you want to make extra boiled lemons, you can keep them a few weeks. To keep them, drain them, press them into a jar, cover with olive oil or vegetable oil, cover and refrigerate them.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

2 lemons

3 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Generous 2 teaspoons honey

1/2 cup / 120 ml dry white wine

3/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 head of garlic, cloves peeled and chopped

8 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon / 60 g capers in brine, drained

2/3 cup / 100 g pitted green olives, such as Castelvetrano

1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F / 180 C, with a rack in the middle of the oven.

2. Place one of the lemons in a saucepan and cover with water. Put a lid smaller than the size of the pan on the lemon to keep it submerged. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to boil gently for about 30 minutes, until it is very soft. Let it cool enough to handle, then cut it into pieces (about 1/2 inch / 1 cm) and remove the seeds. Set aside.

3. While the lemon is boiling, squeeze the other lemon into a large bowl. Add the olive oil, turmeric, ginger, honey, wine, salt and a few grinds of black pepper, and beat well. Add the garlic and the chicken, turning the pieces so they are well coated.

4. Arrange the chicken thighs in a roasting pan or baking dish in which they fit snugly, putting the capers, olives and boiled lemon pieces in between, then pour the liquid contents of the bowl all over. Bake for 1 hour, until the chicken is well browned and cooked through. (Note: If you’re serving it with the couscous, put the couscous in the oven at minute 45 or 50.) Scatter the cilantro on top, and serve.