Amazing Artichoke Week: Lemon Chicken Vesuvio for Two

There are hundreds of recipes for Chicken Vesuvio on the Internet.  I believe it was legendary sportscaster Harry Caray who made this dish a household favorite.  

This recipe tastes like summer with the addition of the lemon juice and the artichoke hearts.  It's also great because in the summer I don't like heating up the house by using the oven.  This bakes up in 30 minutes so you don't really notice the "heat."

This is a two skillet dinner.  I actually cook and bake each serving in its own skillet just as a chef would if you ordered this in a restaurant.  I do this to ensure even browning and flavor.    So you will need dueling skillets if you want to follow this recipe exactly.  

Note:   I like to use a sauté pan. 

If you are doubling this recipe, the cooking method is probably not practical.  You can certainly brown everything and then combine it into a baking dish.

Note:  I don't brown the mushrooms.  I let the oven do the work. 

I was going to use frozen artichoke hearts in this dish but the grocery store didn't have them in stock.  I still had the canned hearts marinated in the wine and dill in my refrigerator which I used for my amazing shrimp cocktail recipe , so I decided to use those.     I do like frozen as they taste "fresher" to me, but the canned worked nicely too.  Hey, use what you have on hand and save yourself a little money!

Store the unused 1/2 of potato in a sealed container.  Sprinkle with lemon juice to avoid browning in the refrigerator.  I suggest you use it the next day.  Think breakfast potatoes!

If you do not want the skin on the chicken, remove it after cooking.

Be sure that your pan is oven-safe.

You can substitute non-alcoholic wine. 

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

2 bone in skin on chicken thighs
1/2 cup dry white wine, divided
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 sprigs fresh oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 Russet potato, peeled and halved
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice plus rind  
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder, divided
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup canned or frozen artichoke hearts, quartered
1/2 cup sliced white mushrooms

Directions:

Add chicken thighs to a plastic container for bowl.  Pour 1/4 cup of the white wine and a 1/4 cup of the apple cider vinegar over the chicken.  Toss in two springs of fresh oregano.  Marinate for 2-4 hours for best flavor.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Add one tablespoon of olive oil to each sauté pan.  Add one potato wedge to each pan and brown evenly on all sides.  Remove from pan once browned.

Add garlic to each pan along with one piece of chicken, skin side down.  Brown chicken but make sure that you reduce the heat slightly as the pan is hot and the garlic might burn.  You want the garlic to just start to brown. 

Once chicken is browned, add the remainder of the wine to both pans. Deglaze pans, scraping the browned bits from the bottom. 

Add lemon juice and the rind to the pans.  Sprinkle garlic powder and thyme over both pieces of the chicken and the potatoes.  Salt and pepper to taste. 

Note:  Don't overdo the salt and pepper.  You can add more at the table.

Add 1/2 of the frozen peas to each pan, along with the artichoke hearts and the sliced mushrooms.

Bake for 30 minutes. 

Chop remaining fresh oregano and top the chicken dish.

Fresh parsley for the garnish is optional.

Enjoy and I'll see you soon!