I had a lot of extra olives so I wanted to come up with a way to incorporate them into something besides just putting them on top of a salad. I’m a huge fan of cooking chicken this way- sautéing it in some brothy goodness until it is tender. It’s not a lot of work and the chicken doesn’t dry out either. I came up with the eggplant salad to go along with the Mediterranean theme. I’m very pleased with both of these recipes and my husband was a huge fan too.
Mediterranean Chicken Thighs
Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs- bone in & skin on
1 Tablespoon ghee
1 can whole tomatoes with juice- each tomato cut into 4 chunks
½ cup compliant chicken or vegetable broth
½ onion thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic- minced
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ cup pitted olives of choice each cut lengthwise- I used green olives from Trader Joe’s
Salt and pepper to taste
Kitchen equipment needed:
1 large skillet with lid
- Heat skillet over medium-high heat and add in ghee to melt
- Season the chicken thighs on each side with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken on each side approximately 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned. Removed chicken from the pan.
- Add in the sliced onion and sauté 3 minutes. Add in garlic and sauté an additional minute.
- Add in the tomatoes, broth, lemon juice, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf. Add chicken back into pan, cover, and simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Remove the lid, stir in olives and turn heat up to medium-high. Simmer approximately 10-15 minutes longer or until the chicken is fully cooked (internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F) and sauce has thickened.
Roasted eggplant salad
1 large eggplant
2 cloves of garlic- minced
1 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Chili powder- just a dash
Dressing:
1 Tablespoon tahini
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon dried mint
Kitchen equipment needed:
Baking sheet
Parchment paper
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Wash and trim the eggplant. Cut the eggplant into bite sized cubes.
- Mix the eggplant cubes with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, & chili powder.
- Roast the eggplant in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes.
- While the eggplant is roasting, mix the ingredients for the dressing and set aside until the eggplant is finished roasting.
- Cool the eggplant slightly then toss the eggplant in the dressing. Serve slightly warmed or cold as desired.
Try out these recipes and let me know what you think in the comments section below.