Available in the market squares of Sicily and Calabria, avenue distributors baste thick swordfish chops with a vibrant mix of lemon juice and olive oil, grilling them over smoldering coals and filling the air with an alluring mixture of char and candy. The easy, historic mixture is named salmoriglio, and it’s the first method fish is served in southern Italy.
At Milk Road, we knew that hen would shine with an analogous remedy — a fast soak in a lemony marinade adopted by a activate the grill or in a high-heat oven, plus a ending splash of extra sauce.
For this oven-cooked model from our ebook, “Milk Road Tuesday Nights, Mediterranean,” which limits recipes to 45 minutes or much less, we first make a aromatic base of grated lemon zest, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. We then use some to season bone-in hen thighs and the remaining as the inspiration for the salmoriglio that sauces the completed hen.
Somewhat than use the juice of contemporary lemons within the sauce, we squeeze lemon halves which have been roasted with the hen. The oven warmth mellows the acidity so the sauce has a refined sweetness and a extra restrained tartness.
A contact of honey helps brown the hen below the broiler, and contemporary oregano evokes the herbaceous aromas of these Sicilian squares.
Begin to end: 45 minutes
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, plus 2 lemons halved crosswise
2 medium garlic cloves, finely grated
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
Kosher salt and floor black pepper
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 kilos bone-in, skin-on hen thighs, trimmed and patted dry
1 bunch watercress, trimmed, or 5-ounce container child arugula
1 tablespoon finely chopped contemporary oregano
Warmth the oven to 475°F with a rack within the lower-middle place. Grate 1 tablespoon zest from the lemons, then halve the lemons and trim off the pointed ends so the halves sit stably with lower sides dealing with up; set the lemon halves apart. In a small bowl, stir collectively the zest, garlic, dried oregano, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Measure 1 tablespoon of the lemon-garlic combination into a big bowl. Stir 4 tablespoons of oil into the remaining combination; put aside.
To the massive bowl, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the honey, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper, then stir to mix. Utilizing a pointy knife, lower parallel slashes about 1 inch aside all the way in which to the bone on either side of every hen thigh. Add the thighs to the bowl and switch to coat on all sides, rubbing the seasoning combination into the slashes.
Organize the hen pores and skin up and the lemon halves lower sides up on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast till the hen is starting to brown and the thickest half reaches 165°F to 170°F, about 20 minutes. Leaving the hen within the oven, activate the broiler. Proceed to cook dinner till the hen is deep golden brown and the thickest half reaches about 175°F, about 5 minutes. Take away from the oven.
Place the watercress on a serving platter, making a mattress for the hen.
Utilizing tongs, place the hen on high of the watercress. Squeeze 3 tablespoons juice from 1 or 2 of the lemon halves, then stir the juice together with the contemporary oregano into the lemon-garlic oil to make the salmoriglio. Drizzle the sauce over the hen and serve with the remaining lemon halves for squeezing.
