This chicken has a bevy of spices, making for a unique experience. The tart lemon juice as well as the briny olive flavor helps bring everything together! If you're able to source an olive spread similar to the one below, it makes the dish even more simple. However; if you're looking for a bit more unique experience, go for an olive tapenade. Lemon juice is optional if you go the tapenade route because it already has lemon juice. You can find out how to make an easy olive tapenade for this chicken listed in the section below.
Watch me make 5 Spice Lemon-Olive Chicken here
What type of chicken should I use?
I love dark meat, so I opted for a bone-in cut with a thigh and drumstick together. Measurements for this recipe are based on the amount of this particular cut of chicken but using all breasts would work well also. The most important thing to note here is-try to get as close to 2 pounds as possible---that's' what the recipe calls for.
Preparing this dish
A great way to make sure this 5-Spice Lemon Olive Chicken is put together with ease is by preparing everything you need. This can be done by chopping all of the veggies you need and setting them aside. Gather all of the spices in addition to the five you'll need, you will also want to grab some salt and pepper...those two will help bring out the true flavors of everything else you add.
Put together your olive tapenade
Olive tapenade is super easy to make; just combine 2 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp lemon juice, ⅓ cup olives, 1 tbsp capers, 1 tbsp parsley, and 1 tbsp olive oil in a food processor. Once this is complete, pulse until you reach your desired consistency and add salt & pepper to taste.
A note about cooking time
Bear in mind that the cooking time can vary slightly depending on a variety of reasons including the type of chicken you use. If you are unsure about how to cook the chicken or how to test for doneness, I would recommend using a meat thermometer. In this case, you would cook the chicken for the specified amount of time, then insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. For chicken, the internal temperature should read at least 165 degrees (according to google). If your chicken has not reached that internal temperature, it needs to be cooked more.
Enjoy this 5 Spice Lemon-Olive Chicken!
MORE MAIN DISHES!!!
5 Spice Lemon-Olive Chicken
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This chicken has a bevy of spices, making for a unique experience. The tart lemon juice as well as the briny olive flavor helps bring everything together!
Ingredients
2 lbs chicken (use sections of your choice)
¼ cup olive oil
⅓ cup lemon juice
1 & ¾ tsp turmeric
1 tsp smoked paprika
¼ cup chopped cilantro
½ tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 medium white onion
⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Chop cilantro, slice onions, squeeze lemon juice, grate garlic, and prepare olive tapenade if necessary.
- Combine all spices, cilantro, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and olive mixture of choice in a bowl; mix these ingredients well. Add chicken to a separate bowl. Spoon spice mixture on top of chicken and mix to combine. Add onions and toss until they are coated with spices. Transfer everything to a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 400 for 30-35 minutes (or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees) .
Notes
*Please note that cooking time may vary depending on thickness and cut of chicken.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
I can't wait to try this
Great!!
What a great recipe.
Thank you!!