Everything goes in one skillet and 40 minutes later you have braised chicken with potatoes, olives, and lemon wedges in a pan sauce that tastes like a vacation. Martha Stewart’s Braised Chicken Potatoes Olives And Lemon starts on the stove to brown the thighs, then moves to a 450 degree oven where the potatoes get tender and the lemon softens into the stock.
I make this Martha Stewart chicken thighs recipe when I want dinner to feel Mediterranean without actually thinking that hard. The olives and lemon do all the heavy lifting on flavor and the cornstarch at the end pulls the pan juices into a real sauce.
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One Skillet, Start To Finish
The whole dinner happens in a single cast iron skillet. You brown the chicken on the stove, pour in the stock, drop the potatoes and olives and lemon right into the same pan, and slide it into the oven.
Thirty minutes later you pull it out and the potatoes are soft, the skin still has its crust, and the liquid has turned into a proper sauce. I do not even dirty a cutting board most nights because the garlic just gets smashed and the lemon gets cut into wedges.
Braised Chicken Potatoes Olives And Lemon Ingredients
- 2 1/4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- Coarse salt
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups chicken stock
- 12 ounces baby fingerling potatoes or halved small potatoes
- 5 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 1/2 cup green olives, such as Cerignola, pitted if desired
- 1 small lemon, washed well, cut into wedges
- 6 thyme sprigs
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
How To Make Martha Stewart Braised Chicken Potatoes Olives And Lemon
- Brown the chicken: Set the oven to 450 degrees. Season the thighs with salt. Heat a large heavy ovenproof skillet, cast iron if you have it, over medium-high. Add the oil and cook the chicken skin-side down until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip and push the chicken to one side of the pan.
- Add the stock and potatoes: Pour in 1 cup of stock and add half a teaspoon of salt. Drop the potatoes into the liquid and bring to a boil.
- Add everything else: Add the garlic, olives, lemon wedges, and thyme to the liquid. Bring it back to a boil.
- Roast: Move the skillet to the oven. Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring the potatoes once halfway through, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
- Thicken the sauce: Put the skillet back on the stove. Mix the cornstarch with the remaining quarter cup of stock, stir it into the pan, and bring to a boil so the sauce thickens up. Serve right away.
Which Olives Work Best For This
Martha calls for Cerignola olives and they are great but not always easy to find. I have had the best results with Castelvetrano olives because they are meatier and milder and they do not fall apart during the 30 minutes in the oven.
Regular jarred green olives work too but they are sharper and more briny, which can take over the sauce if you use the full half cup. If that is all you have, I would start with a third of a cup and taste from there.
How To Get Crispy Skin When Braising
Braising usually means soft soggy skin and I hate that. Martha’s recipe solves most of it by browning the thighs first and then keeping them skin-side up in the oven so the skin stays above the liquid.
But if you want it even crispier, run the skillet under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes right at the end. The sauce stays where it is and the skin gets charred edges that make the whole dish look and taste more finished.
I also slice the lemon paper-thin on a mandoline instead of cutting it into wedges. The thin slices melt into the sauce and you get lemon in every bite instead of having to squeeze the wedges at the end.
What To Serve With This Braised Chicken
The potatoes are already in the pan so you really just need bread. Olive bread is the obvious match, or a piece of bruschetta to soak up the lemon pan sauce. I sometimes toss greens in a quick vinaigrette but most nights the skillet is the whole meal.
Storing And Reheating Leftovers
Keep everything in the sauce because the braising liquid keeps the chicken moist and the potatoes soak up more flavor overnight. Fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheat in the skillet on the stove over medium-low. Stir a handful of spinach into the leftover sauce at the end and let it wilt, it turns the leftovers into a different meal entirely.
FAQs
- Can I skip the cornstarch? Yes. The sauce will be thinner and more brothy but still good. I have done it both ways. The thickened version clings to the chicken and potatoes instead of pooling on the plate, which I prefer, but it is not a dealbreaker either way.
- Can I use chicken breasts or boneless thighs? Boneless thighs work but they shrink more and the sauce will not be as rich without the bones. Breasts dry out in 30 minutes of braising so I would avoid them. Bone-in skin-on thighs are what this recipe is built for.
- Can I prep this ahead for a dinner party? Yes and someone in the reviews does this all the time. Brown the chicken in the afternoon, get the potatoes and everything else ready in the skillet, then just pop it in the oven 30 minutes before your guests sit down. It is a great make-ahead trick.
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Nutrition Facts
(1 serving, serves 4)
- Calories: 510
- Total Fat: 28g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Cholesterol: 155mg
- Sodium: 680mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 22g
- Protein: 38g
Martha Stewart Braised Chicken Potatoes Olives And Lemon Recipe
Description
Everything goes in one skillet and 40 minutes later you have braised chicken with potatoes, olives, and lemon wedges in a pan sauce that tastes like a vacation. Martha Stewart’s Braised Chicken Potatoes Olives And Lemon starts on the stove to brown the thighs, then moves to a 450 degree oven where the potatoes get tender and the lemon softens into the stock.
I make this Martha Stewart chicken thighs recipe when I want dinner to feel Mediterranean without actually thinking that hard. The olives and lemon do all the heavy lifting on flavor and the cornstarch at the end pulls the pan juices into a real sauce.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Brown the chicken: Set the oven to 450 degrees. Season the thighs with salt. Heat a large heavy ovenproof skillet, cast iron if you have it, over medium-high. Add the oil and cook the chicken skin-side down until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip and push the chicken to one side of the pan.
- Add the stock and potatoes: Pour in 1 cup of stock and add half a teaspoon of salt. Drop the potatoes into the liquid and bring to a boil.
- Add everything else: Add the garlic, olives, lemon wedges, and thyme to the liquid. Bring it back to a boil.
- Roast: Move the skillet to the oven. Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring the potatoes once halfway through, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
- Thicken the sauce: Put the skillet back on the stove. Mix the cornstarch with the remaining quarter cup of stock, stir it into the pan, and bring to a boil so the sauce thickens up. Serve right away.
Notes
- Use an ovenproof skillet: Cast iron is ideal. If you do not have one, brown in any skillet then transfer to a baking dish.
- Stir the potatoes halfway through: They stick to the bottom if left alone. One stir at 15 minutes keeps them from burning.