Lemon Chicken with Olives & Capers

Ingredients

• 900 g chicken thigh fillets, boneless, skinless
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200 ml chicken stock, hot
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 2 lemons, one juiced, one sliced
• 150 g green olives, pitted
• 3 tbsp capers, drained
• fresh flat-leaf parsley, to serve
• Dressed rocket salad with shaved parmesan, to serve
• Crusty ciabatta, to serve
• Crusty ciabatta, to serve
• Dressed rocket salad with shaved parmesan, to serve

Method

1. Pat the chicken thighs dry — water means steam, and steam means no browning. Season generously on both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large stainless or cast-iron pan over high heat until it shimmers. Sear the chicken in two batches, 4–5 minutes per side, until deeply golden and releasing easily from the pan. Don't crowd the pan — all at once and the thighs steam in their own juices instead of building that golden crust. Transfer to a plate.
3. Drop the heat to medium. Add the onion to the same pan and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent and lifting some of the fond from the base.
4. Add the sliced garlic and oregano and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant and pale gold — don't burn it, burnt garlic turns the whole sauce bitter.
5. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble for 2 minutes, scraping up every browned bit from the base of the pan with a wooden spoon. That fond is where the depth lives.
6. Add the lemon juice, lemon slices, hot chicken stock, olives and capers. Stir to combine, then nestle the chicken and any resting juices back into the sauce.
7. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 minutes until the chicken is completely tender. Remove the lid and cook for a further 8–10 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly and the lemon slices have gone soft and jammy.
8. Taste the sauce — between the olives, capers and stock there's already plenty of salt, but a final pinch of pepper and a check for seasoning ties it together. Taste, season, taste again. Adjust now, not at the table.
9. Scatter generously with chopped parsley, bring the pan to the table with crusty ciabatta for mopping, and serve the dressed rocket and parmesan salad alongside.