All content copyright Katrina Hall 2008 through 2025

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

zesty lime chicken with capers and olives






Good grief, it's been a while!  But I'm back with a winner of a dinner that I've now made three times - it is that good.  The snow here in New Hampshire is melting - too slowly for me, since there is still a good two feet of snow, but every day is a little warmer, so I'm happy with that.  And my daughter and granddaughter have been visiting from Minnesota, which has been , well, every moment cherished.  


Zesty Lime Chicken with capers and olives

2 or 3 bone-in chicken breasts, or chicken legs, or a combination
a few slices red onion
several bay leaves
peeled, slivered garlic
2 teaspoons whole thyme
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice for each piece of chicken
several slices fresh lime
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon or so of bottled capers
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons pitted kalamata olives for garnish

I used a round ceramic tart pan to bake these, so if you are using a metal baking sheet or pie pan, your time may be shortened.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Arrange the chicken in the the baking pan.
Loosen the skin and tuck the slivered garlic and a bay leaf under each piece of chicken.
Drizzle each piece of chicken with the fresh lime juice, then sprinkle with salt and pepper and whole dried thyme, then drizzle with olive oil.  Top each piece with half rounds of fresh lime.  I had to buy several extra limes, because I got so little juice from each.  If anyone is a lime expert, please let me know what I should look for to find a juicy lime!

Sprinkle the capers with a little caper juice over the chicken, then place in oven.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until chicken is tender.  Using a ceramic plate took a little longer than using a metal baking pan.  Since the temperature is fairly low, you can safely bake it a little longer without it drying out.

Let the chicken sit for 10 minutes before serving, then remove to a platter.  Drizzle the juices from the pan over the chicken, then add a few more capers and the olives to the platter, then serve.  You can also carve the chicken off the bones, and serve in a tidy little mound, garnished with capers, olives, and a clean bay leaf.


Happy Easter to you, and welcome Spring, finally!







8 comments:

La Table De Nana said...

Snow here too..like you..
So happy you had visitors:)

Love olives and capers w/ chicken.
Happy Easter Katrina.

katrina said...

It has been a delight, Nana! And many Springtime thoughts - may daffodils be in our immediate future. Olives, limes and capers with chicken are new to me, but I'm making up for lost time, that's for sure:) Happy Easter to you and your family !

diary of a tomato said...

Perfect for these evenings when I'm just cooking for myself! The snow melt may be slow but can't help but think that's a good thing if we can avoid flooding...

katrina said...

Dear Diary - absolutely what I was thinking! The melt here has speeded up a bit, but no flooding, not yet anyway.
Glad you liked the lime chicken - I discovered I can now use fresh lime juice as long as it's in a cooked dish - hooray! Oh, and loved your adventure in dogsledding!

Farmgirl Susan said...

It's always so nice to see one of your posts in my inbox. Everything you make always looks so good. This chicken sounds amazing. Thanks for the comments and email - I've been terrible about leaving comments lately and I've been meaning to write you for months.

I can't believe how much snow you've gotten. Here's hoping you see the ground - and some flowers! - soon. xoxo

katrina said...

Susan! So wonderful to see you out and about on FB and blogs! Thank you for your kind words about that chicken -definitely the kind of thing I'd see on YOUR blog!
Just glad all is ok - you had a few years of medical things happening one after another. And the snow is melting - but there's still a foot and a half or so (more in shady areas) GAH!

CountryVictorian said...

Hi, I think your problem with dry limes is, limes are from very mild climates. So maybe the limes you are buying in your region are dry with no flavor and not juicy because they have been shipped from a far away place. And they could be completely out of season. I live in Northern California so the limes I buy are from Mexico or Southern California, so they are much fresher and more local. It makes a big difference! You might want to try the "plastic limes and lemons". They will probably better than fresh in you region.

katrina said...

Thanks, CountryVictorian! I bought limes from two different stores, assuming they were from CA, but both were very dry, even though they looked fresh and (hopefully) juicy. Think I'll try one of the health food shops next. Appreciate your input!