This chicken dish is quick and easy to make.  Here I used bone-in chicken thighs, but you can use chicken breasts or legs, bone-in or boneless.  Just make sure to adjust your cooking time so that your chicken temps at 165 degrees for doneness.  

The key to this delicious dish is the herb dressing.  It hits all the marks.  Earthiness from the herbs, brightness from the lemon, saltiness from the olives, and creaminess from the garlic and oil.  I made extra to mix in with the riced cauliflower side I served with the chicken.  I even used it in scrambled eggs the next morning.

6 pieces of chicken (bone-in or boneless, skin on or skin off)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 cloves of garlic, not peeled
3 lemons, 2 sliced and 1 juiced
1/2 cup of whole olives (I like Italian green olives for this)
Salt & pepper

Dressing:
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of white balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup of fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup of fresh basil, finely chopped
Pinch of red pepper flakes 
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl place chicken pieces, minced garlic, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of minced parsley, 1 tablespoon of minced basil, and mix together.  Place chicken pieces on a sheet pan and arrange lemon slices, unpeeled garlic cloves, and olives around the chicken.  Salt and pepper the entire pan.  Bake in the oven until the chicken is cooked through and the lemons have charred (approximately 30-35 minutes). 

When the chicken is done, remove the pan, squeeze the juice of the remaining lemon over the hot chicken, and let it rest while you make the dressing.  Mix the oil and vinegar together, add the herbs, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper.  Remove the charred lemon slices and garlic cloves from the roasting sheet pan.  The garlic should be soft and easily removed by squeezing the peel of each clove.  Give the garlic a rough chop and add as much as you like to the dressing.  Next, de-seed the charred lemon slices, and chop them finely, peels included.  Add to the dressing.  Finally, remove the roasted olives from the pan and finely chop them and add them to the dressing.  If your olives have pits, gently press on them with the flat of your knife, and they will pop out. Discard the pits. 

Spoon the dressing over each piece of warm chicken before serving.  

I like to think that I am always trying to create healthy, made from scratch food but being January, I guess I think about it a little more.  This soup is full of goodness, loaded with healthy ingredients, and is as comforting as any creamy soup would be.  It is my version of Turkish Yogurt Soup.  The yogurt gives it a nice tangy flavor that I would liken to a Greek Avgolemono Soup.  It's a little vacation in a bowl.

Buckwheat Groats:
A few months ago, I was wandering up and down the isles of my ethnic grocery store and found several brands of buckwheat groats. I love looking at the different items in that store, especially if they aren't in English. It's like a game for me. What is it? What can I make with it? Wonder how it tastes? We also have a fantastic Asian grocery store not far that I love to wander through as well. These are my field trips since I can't travel right now. I spend so much time in these stores that they probably think I'm casing the joints. 

So buckwheat. It is the hulled seed of the buckwheat plant. It is full of vitamins, protein, and antioxidants. It is easy to make and very versatile. You can use it anywhere you would use other grains like barley, rice, or quinoa. It has a slightly nutty and smoky taste. It has become my new favorite groat and works nicely in this soup.

Yogurt Soup with Buckwheat & Chickpeas
1/2 cup buckwheat groats
1 cup water

1 cup yogurt (plain)
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons flour
1-15.5 oz. can chickpeas
4 cups of vegetable broth 
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste

Oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 medium shallot, sliced

In a saucepan, place 1/2 cup of buckwheat groats and 1 cup of water over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cover for approximately 5 minutes.  They are done when the water has evaporated and the groats are soft and expanded. Let cool.  

In a stockpot, whisk together the yogurt, egg yolk, and flour. Now slowly whisk in the vegetable stock to combine.  Add the cooked buckwheat, drained chickpeas and heat over medium stirring occasionally.  Do not boil.  You want to gently heat this soup.  Add the zest and juice of one lemon and salt and pepper to taste.

While to soup is heating make the oil.  In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup of olive oil with 1 garlic clove and 1 sliced shallot.  Heat until the garlic starts to brown and the shallot rings begin too crisp up.  Remove and discard the garlic clove but save the shallots.

Drizzle the shallots and oil over the soup and sprinkle some chopped fresh parsley or dill.  Enjoy!