Garlicky Weeknight Chicken
For when you don’t feel like doing much after a long day – or when pasta’s not on the diet.
Contrary to popular belief, I do actually eat more than just pasta. On (most) weeknights, I usually stick to healthier proteins and green veggies– and I’ve learned it’s easy to keep them from boring.
Chicken thighs are one of my favorites– they have more flavor, are juicer, and sear amazingly in hot cast iron. Here, I simply deglaze the pan with chicken stock (scraping for those brown bits!) and add tons of garlic, parsley + chili for a quick, crunchy, flavor-packed sauce.
Winner, winner, weeknight chicken dinner.
Let’s cook!
You’ll need:
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 c chicken stock
2 tsp of any garlic-seasoned salt– here I used Borsari Citrus Seasoning
1/2 lemon, to be juiced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, or more to taste
1 handful fresh parsley
EVOO, plus grapeseed or avocado oil for cooking
Salt & fresh-cracked pepper
Makes 4 servings.
Steps:
A few hours beforehand– Place chicken thighs in a glass bowl or large zip-top bag, and coat with a few glugs of EVOO, your seasoned salt and a good amount of cracked black pepper. Toss well with tongs, wrap with plastic if needed, and refrigerate 1h+. Bring to room temp before cooking.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat; once hot, coat with a thin layer of high flash point oil (such as grapeseed or avocado). Arrange half of the thighs in the skillet, without crowding.
Sear the thighs on one side without flipping or disturbing for 5-7 min, until they release naturally and are well-browned. Flip, and sear the other side for 5 min more.
As your thighs sear, peel + roughly mince garlic; roughly chop a handful of parsley.
Remove thighs to a plate and set aside; repeat with your second batch of thighs, until all are cooked. Reduce heat slightly.
Into the skillet, pour the chicken stock to deglaze–scraping up browned bits from the pan–and cook down for ~3 min. Add the garlic, parsley, and crushed red pepper.
Continue to cook the sauce for a few more minutes, until the garlic is just browned and crispy at the edges, not burnt!
Spoon the garlicky sauce over the seared thighs, and serve.