Always game for a weeknight one-pan dinner, here’s another winner to add to your repertoire. In this one-pan meal, freshly seared chicken thighs simmer in their own schmaltz alongside bursting tomatoes and salty olives. Those sweet and bright tomato juices serve as a starting point for a delicate sauce.
To make the most of the leftover olive brine, this recipe uses it in lieu of salt to season the sauce, as well as to deglaze the pan and extract the rich flavors that stick to the bottom when you sear chicken. Tarragon sprigs add their irresistible peppery aroma. If tarragon is impossible to find, fresh rosemary or marjoram make equally tasty alternatives.
Overall, the recipe couldn’t have been much simpler, there is almost no prep. Other than seasoning the chicken thighs and slicing the shallots (a hand-held mandoline comes in real handy for that), the remaining ingredients just get thrown in the pan without any slicing or dicing.
Of course, if you are not enamored with olives, then this just isn’t for you…
Seared Chicken Thighs with Cherry Tomatoes and Olives
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (5 to 7 thighs)
- Salt
- 1 Tbsp. neutral oil, such as avocado or grapeseed oil
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 1 6-oz. jar pitted green olives, drained, brine reserved
- 1 6-oz. jar pitted Kalamata olives, drained
- 1½ lbs. cherry tomatoes
- 3 fresh tarragon sprigs
- Crusty bread, or couscous for serving
Directions
- Pat dry the chicken using a paper towel and season with salt on all sides.
- In a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high, heat the oil. Place the chicken skin-side down in the skillet and sear for 7 to 9 minutes, until crispy, golden and the skin easily releases from the bottom of the skillet. Flip the chicken thighs and continue cooking for 5 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer the seared chicken to a plate.
- Remove all but about 3 tablespoons of schmaltz from the skillet and add the shallots. Decrease the heat to medium. Cook, stirring frequently, until translucent and soft, about 3 minutes.
- Add â…“ cup of the green olive brine to the skillet and scrape to loosen the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the green olives, Kalamata olives, tomatoes and tarragon. Partly cover with a lid and bring the mixture to a simmer, occasionally stirring and crushing some of the tomatoes with the back of a spoon to release their juices.
- When the mixture reaches a simmer, tuck the chicken thighs in between the cherry tomatoes and olives, skin-side up. Partly cover with a lid and simmer over medium for 12 minutes, until the tomatoes have released most of their juices and have burst and softened.
- Meanwhile, place an oven rack as close to the broiler as possible and set the oven to broil.
- Remove the lid and place the skillet under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, until the chicken skin is slightly charred in places and crispy.
- Serve right away, with bread on the side.
Recipe by Carolina Gelen for the NYTimes Cooking
Accounting for Taste 
Besides the inviting taste of the two types of olives I do find the use of tarragon interesting – love the flavour > I find it does not get used often enough!
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