Herb Roasted Chicken with Lemons & Olives

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.