Lemon Chicken with Chickpeas and Spinach
Tender chicken thighs braised with spiced chickpeas and fresh spinach in a bright, lemony broth finished with crème fraîche.
Ingredients
- 8bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- fine sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbspolive oil
- 1brown onion, finely diced
- 4 clovesgarlic, finely chopped
- 1 tspground cumin
- 1 tspground coriander
- 0.5 tspdried chilli flakes
- 300 mlchicken stock
- 400 gtin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1lemon, zested and juiced
- 3 tbspcrème fraîche
- 200 gbaby spinach
Method
- Season the chicken thighs generously all over with salt and black pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a wide, deep lidded frying pan or casserole over a medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken skin-side down and fry for 6 to 8 minutes until golden and crisp, then flip and brown the other side for 3 minutes before transferring to a plate.
- Lower the heat to medium, add the chopped onion to the remaining fat in the pan, and fry for 5 minutes until soft and translucent.
- Stir in the garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander, and chilli flakes, cooking for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Pour in the chicken stock, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the drained chickpeas, lemon zest, and lemon juice, then stir to combine.
- Return the chicken thighs to the pan skin-side up, nestling them into the chickpeas, and bring the liquid to a simmer.
- Cover with the lid, turn the heat down to low, and simmer gently for 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the lid, stir the crème fraîche and spinach leaves into the sauce until wilted and combined, and adjust seasoning with extra salt, pepper, or lemon juice to taste before serving.