{"id":5226,"date":"2018-06-20T09:00:29","date_gmt":"2018-06-20T15:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/?post_type=recipe&p=5226"},"modified":"2026-09-02T10:58:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T17:58:43","slug":"chicken-braised-with-lemon-sage-and-olives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/2018\/06\/20\/chicken-braised-with-lemon-sage-and-olives\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicken Braised with Lemon, Sage and Olives"},"content":{"rendered":"

June 20, 2018<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When we\u2019re in Palm Springs in the winter, surrounded by an abundance of citrus trees, I feel like citrus ought to be featured in every meal.<\/p>\n

Being able to walk out the door and pick lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit and tangerines, and NOT doing it, seems like such a grand missed opportunity.\u00a0 Even if the ingredients for the rest of the meal don\u2019t come from within a few feet of my door, the citrus fruits and herbs can.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, and the prospect of cooking a multi-course dinner for 15 people in a kitchen that\u2019s about 8\u2019 x 10\u2019 got me to thinking.\u00a0 Individually lemons, sage, and olives pair well with chicken so why not all of them together in the same dish?<\/p>\n

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Looking up into a lemon tree in Palm Springs<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next came the method.\u00a0 With fifteen people I needed at least 15 pieces of chicken.\u00a0 I was pretty sure that with all the other courses, one piece of chicken per person would be enough.\u00a0 I added a few more for good measure.<\/p>\n

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Braising 18 pieces of chicken on the stove top would have consumed a good deal of space so I opted for the oven and a \u201chotel pan,\u201d sometimes called a steam table tray.\u00a0 You know, those cafeteria-style rectangular pans.\u00a0 I have a mess of them in an array of sizes.\u00a0 Made of stainless steel, they\u2019re non-reactive.\u00a0 You can cook and store food in them, simplifying the preparation process.\u00a0 Shallow roasting pans are a good substitute.\u00a0 Don\u2019t use aluminum pans or other reactive materials due to the lemon juice in this dish.<\/p>\n

To keep it simple, I decided not to brown the chicken first, but rather to do it at the end by turning up the oven.\u00a0 I made a marinade by buzzing the ingredients in a blender, so even that is super-easy.<\/p>\n

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A hotel pan is a great way to prepare large quantities of food<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Which part of the chicken to use was never in question.\u00a0 I like what happens to chicken thighs with long, slow braising.\u00a0 Keeping the bone in adds flavor and structure so I suggest avoiding boneless thighs.<\/p>\n

If you keep the skin on you\u2019ll have to remove it before browning and serving the chicken because it will be rubbery from the moist heat.\u00a0 I usually prefer to keep the skin on as it helps keep the meat moist but the combination of low and slow cooking and a tight cover meant the effect of the skin would be marginal.\u00a0 Removing the skin in the beginning makes the dish even simpler to prepare.\u00a0 Besides, the skin is a great addition to the stock pot when making chicken stock or broth.<\/p>\n

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I keep a zipper lock bag in my freezer into which I put chicken skin and other bits that I trim off chicken then add the contents to the stock pot with backs and wings.\u00a0 Skin contains a lot of fat but since it will be skimmed off at the end it\u2019s not really a concern.\u00a0 The collagen in the skin, however, will greatly improve the mouthfeel of the broth.\u00a0 In the \u201cold days\u201d adding chicken feet to the stock pot served the same purpose but finding chicken feet is challenging.<\/p>\n

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A Palm Springs orange tree, in the distance, full of ripe oranges<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While this dish was created in the Palm Springs winter, it works well year-round thanks to the non-stop availability of lemons.\u00a0 The next time you\u2019re cooking for a crowd, give it a try and let me know what you think.

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Chicken Braised with Lemon, Sage and Olives<\/h2>\n
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I created this recipe for my father-in-law\u2019s birthday, January 2018. The lemons came from the trees outside of our house in Palm Springs. Though not essential, I prefer to put a sheet of baking parchment over the chicken before covering with aluminum foil to keep the reactive aluminum completely out of contact with the acid in the lemon juice.<\/div>\n
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Prep Time <\/span>30 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Cook Time <\/span>2 hours<\/span><\/span> hrs<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Total Time <\/span>2 hours<\/span><\/span> hrs<\/span> 30 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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Servings: <\/span>12<\/span> people<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ingredients
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