Sautéed Chicken with Olives, Capers and Roasted Lemons

I made this dish last night for dinner and it was very yummy!! I used to be so-so on green olives. I think they are one of those acquired tastes, but now I can't bet enough of them. Kind of like cilantro. But back to the recipe, in this dish, the olives are just divine!

Sautéed Chicken with Olives, Capers and Roasted Lemons
adapted from Food and Wine magazine


1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 lemons, sliced 1/4-inch thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Two 5-ounce bags baby spinach
1 clove minced garlic
Four 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, for dusting
1/2 cup pitted green Sicilian or Spanish olives, sliced
2 tablespoons drained capers
1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small dice
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle olive oil on the parchment, then arrange the lemon slices in a single layer. Drizzle the lemons lightly with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, until the lemons begin to brown around the edges.

Meanwhile, heat a large, deep skillet. Add the garlic and spinach and cook over high heat, tossing, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Transfer the spinach to a strainer; press out the liquid. Put spinach back in the pan, season with salt and pepper and cook for 1 more minute and then keep warm.

In a deep medium skillet, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust with the flour, shaking off the excess. Cook the chicken over high heat, turning once, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add the olives, capers and stock and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat until the stock is reduced by about two-thirds, about 5 minutes. Add the roasted lemons, butter and parsley, season with salt and pepper and simmer just until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute.

Transfer the chicken to plates, served over the spinach and spoon the sauce on top.

I doubled this recipe because we had dinner guests. It was really good! I was afraid it would be too salty with all of the olives and capers, but the lemon and butter balanced it out. The chicken was very tender (although I had to cook it for longer than the recipe said) and the sauce thicked up very well. I served it just like the picture above, except for that I served it on orzo. The orzo was a great accompaniment to the meal! I just tossed the orzo with a little bit of yogurt butter and freshly grated Parmesan and then seasoned it with salt and pepper. Then served orzo, spinach, and then chicken all on one pile. It looked pretty and tasted great. We enjoyed the meal with a nice glass of white wine and it was prefect!

Bon Appetit!