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golden skin-on chicken thighs over softened sliced fennel and baked lemon slices, with a little pan juice in a shallow baking dish
Melissa Hart

Baked Lemon Herb Chicken Thighs

Put the lemon slices underneath the chicken where their juice can flavor the fennel, and keep the skin facing the dry oven heat. A shallow pan helps the sliced vegetables soften without completely burying the thighs in liquid. Rub the chopped herbs beneath the skin so they perfume the meat and don't burn on top. The finished fennel should bend easily under a fork, with a small amount of lemony juice around it that you can spoon beside the crisp skin.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs about 2 lbs total
  • 1 large fennel bulb trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch slices
  • 1 lemon half thinly sliced and half juiced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil divided
  • 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 garlic cloves finely grated
  • 1 tsp fine salt divided
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Toss fennel and lemon slices with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow 9-by-13-inch baking dish; add the broth.
  2. Pat thighs dry. Mix rosemary, thyme, garlic and 1 teaspoon oil, then loosen the skin gently and rub the mixture directly on the meat beneath it.
  3. Set thighs skin-side up over the fennel. Rub skin with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil, remaining salt and pepper.
  4. Roast for 40 to 50 minutes until the fennel is tender and the thickest meat reaches 175 to 185°F. Move any exposed lemon slice beneath the vegetables if its edge becomes very dark.
  5. Rest for 5 minutes. Squeeze the remaining lemon half over the fennel and pan juices, then serve the chicken with the vegetables alongside it.