I should be tired of citrus fruits after this long winter of – well – citrus fruits. But, I’m not. In fact, when I cut into this orange a tear filled my eye because it was so beautiful.
(Although, to be fair, I wasn’t having the best day so seeing this little gem filled my heart with joy. I just wanted to set the record straight that I don’t always weep at the sight of citrus.)
For Christmas Jedd bought me the most beautiful present ever – a chest freezer. Of course, it’s in the living room because there’s no room for it in the kitchen. But that’s just a fun excuse to carry around frozen items from one room to another.
I’m a laughable freezer hoarder. Our apartment freezer was filled with frozen cherry tomatoes, berries, zucchini, squash, and scallions from the farmers market this fall. Which means that there wasn’t any room for things like, “chicken,” or “sausage,” or “ice cream,” or “more than one ice cube tray.”
So, now I feel like I have a whole world open to me. We have meats, and poultry in the living room freezer, along with every kind of nut flour imaginable. And of course, all the fun veggies I love to hoard. Boo ya.
But when I was getting ready to walk some chicken into the living room to freeze it, I decided to use it for dinner instead of saving it for a metaphorical rainy day. Because chicken and citrus just seemed like the perfect pairing along with a good glass of merlot.
Cast Iron Blood Orange Chicken Thighs and Carrots
Serves 2.
Marinade Ingredients:
¼ cup blood orange juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon lemon pepper
Chicken and Carrot Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
4 boneless chicken thighs with skin
2 medium yellow carrots, cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
1 cup chicken broth
¼ cup dry white wine
1 blood orange, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
Instructions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, olive oil, dijon, salt and pepper together.
Place the chicken into a large, resealable plastic bag.
Pour the marinade over the chicken.
Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
When the oil is hot, add the chicken and discard marinade.
Cook chicken for 5 minutes.
Flip the chicken, add the carrots, and cook for an additional 7 minutes.
Turn the heat off, and add the broth and wine. Stir well to scrape up any browned bits.
Top the chicken with blood orange slices, and drizzle with remaining olive oil and season with remaining salt and pepper.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until chicken registers 165 degrees.
Garnish with parsley, and serve with pan sauce.
(Photos by Launie Kettler)