Pan-fried chicken with crushed olives and sumac

This chicken dish has delicious Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours.  It is quite quick and easy to prepare.  The secret is to have the chicken skin on so that it becomes nice and crispy.  It can make an excellent main course, supper dish or meze dish.

Preparation Time: 15 Mins

Cooking Time: 25 Mins

Total Time: 40 Mins

Ingredients

For 4 servings…

½                   Onion  - red - sliced finely       

2 tbs               Lemon juice            

                     Pepper      

                     Salt          

4                    Chicken thighs  - bones in, skin on         

2 tbs               Olive oil    

175 gms          Olives  - green, crushed         

1½ tbs            Sumac      

125 ml             Water       

30 gms            Herbs  - parsley, mint and dill, chopped roughly     

Method

Toss the onion with the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat the olive oil in a frying pan.  Add the chicken, skin side down and cook until the skin is golden brown and crispy - about 10 minutes.  Turn over the chicken and continue to cook until the underside is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through – about eight minutes more.  Transfer the chicken to a large plate.

Add the olives, sumac and water to the pan - stirring to scrape up and browned bits.

Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up so it stays crispy and cook over medium heat until the liquid has almost totally evaporated - about four minutes.  Remove from the heat.  Add the onion and its lemony liquid to the pan and toss to coat with the olives and the other bits.

Transfer the chicken and the olive mixture to a large serving platter.  Scatter the herbs over the top and serve.

Variations

The dish can use breasts of chicken instead of the thighs.

Wine recommendations

A robust red wine.

Conventional

     Côtes du Rhône

Interesting

     Cahors

     Corbières

     Côtes du Luberon

     Fitou

     Gaillac