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!

for love of olives

Puttering around in the kitchen on a rainy morning, making focaccia and pizza dough and setting out little dishes of toppings, and remembering when I first had a REAL olive, instead of black olives-from-a-can. Oh my, what a revelation. Rouen, France, my first French meal - a salade nicoise with tiny nicoise olives.