Roasted chicken thighs with lemon, smoked paprika and green olives

I love this simple chicken dish and cook variations of it all the time as it’s such a successful way to cook chicken pieces, and the resulting smoky, lemony cooking juices are delicious. Just make sure everybody gets some of the succulent roasted garlic cloves to squeeze onto their serving of chicken. The recipe doubles well if you want to serve a large group. However, if you do so, spread the chicken pieces onto two trays so they have enough space for the skin to brown and crisp.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 skin-on chicken thigh cutlets (bone in)
• 1 large lemon, sliced into 5mm thick rounds
• 2-3 whole heads garlic, halved crosswise
• 18 Sicilian green olives
• thyme sprigs or fresh bay leaf sprigs, to garnish

Chicken marinade

• 100ml extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• zest of 1 large lemon, finely grated
• ¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp sea salt flakes
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

METHOD

1. Combine the chicken marinade ingredients in a large bowl and thoroughly mix them together. Add the chicken cutlets, lemon slices and garlic, then swish them about so they’re really well coated in the marinade. (It’s a good idea to slip on a pair of prep gloves and do this with your hands to ensure everything is well-coated.)
2. Line a container that will hold the chicken mixture comfortably with a compostable plastic bag. Scrape the mixture into the bag, then knot the bag tightly. Seal the container and pop it in the fridge for at least 5 hours or preferably overnight – give the bag a good squish occasionally. (The longer you leave the chicken, the more imbued it will become with the flavours. That said, I’ve made this and cooked it almost straight away, and it has still been delicious.)
3. When you’re ready to cook the chicken, preheat your oven to 180C fan-forced (190C conventional).
4. Line a large shallow baking tray with foil, then baking paper. Empty the chicken mixture onto the tray. Sit the chicken cutlets in a single layer, skin-side up, and tuck the garlic halves and lemon slices around them. (If you want to sit a slice of lemon on each piece of chicken, do. It looks lovely once it’s cooked.) Pop the tray in the oven and roast the chicken for about 40 minutes, until it’s deep brown and cooked through but tender. Add the olives in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
5. Remove the baking tray from the oven and transfer everything, including any juices, to a large serving platter. Garnish with thyme or bay leaf sprigs to serve.

Serves 6

This is an edited extract from In Belinda’s Kitchen: Essential Recipes by Belinda Jeffery, published by Simon & Schuster Australia, RRP $49.99. Food photography: Rodney Weidland. Illustrations: Daniel New. Buy now