Chicken with slow-cooked onions and lemons – this comforting dish is a mainstay for me when I want something delicious to eat that doesn’t require much work. If I’m making it for dinner, I tend to cook it in stages – caramelising the onions and garlic a few hours ahead of time, and spreading them into the roasting tin; then browning the chicken pieces just before I’m ready to put the whole lot in the oven. By the way, the preserved lemon isn’t essential in this dish, however if you do have some on hand, give it a try as it adds a tremendous depth of flavour to the chicken.

1/3 cup (80ml) extra-virgin olive oil

4 large brown onions, halved and sliced thinly

4 large cloves garlic, finely sliced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 generous tablespoon thyme leaves

8 very small thyme sprigs

8 chicken chops (partly boned leg and thigh portions)

Flour, for dredging

1 ½ cups (375ml) chicken stock

1 ½-2 tablespoons finely chopped preserved lemon rind, optional

3 large lemons, scrubbed and dried

24 green olives (bright-green Sicilian olives are particularly good)

Preserved lemons add a depth of flavour.

Warm half the oil in a large frying pan over low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring regularly, for20-25 minutes or until they’re soft and pale-golden. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, then stir in the thyme leaves. Spread this onion mixture evenly over the base of a roasting tin that will fit the chicken pieces snugly in a single layer. Sprinkle the thyme sprigs over the top and set the tin aside (you can do this step up to 6 hours ahead of time and keep the tin in a cool spot.) Wipe out the frying pan and set it aside too.

Preheat your oven to 180C. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan over medium heat. Coat the chicken chops in flour, shaking off any excess then add them to the pan and cook them for 3 – 4 minutes each side until they are a rich golden-brown all over. Try not to crowd the pan or the chicken pieces will sweat rather than brown – it’s best to cook them in batches if they look a bit too snug, adding a little more oil if necessary. As the chicken chops are ready, sit them on top of the onion mixture.

Once the chicken has been browned, use paper towels to blot up any excess oil in the pan, then pour in the stock. Bring it to just below the boil, stirring regularly to scrape up any of the caramelised bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the preserved lemon rind, if using.

Green Sicilian olives are perfect for this dish.

Meanwhile, with a very sharp knife cut 16 thin slices of lemon. Remove the seeds, and overlap two slices on each piece of chicken. Squeeze the juice from the remaining lemons and add it to the frying pan, then pour this lemony stock into the tin around the chicken.

Put the tin in the oven, and cook the chicken for 45-50 minutes until it is deeply browned. Scatter the olives around the chicken for the last 15 minutes of cooking time.

When it’s ready, remove the tin from the oven and let the chicken settle for 5 minutes. Then carefully transfer the chicken, onion and cooking juices to a warm deep serving platter. It’s delicious with wilted spinach and soft polenta or olive oil mashed potatoes to soak up the cooking juices. (Serves 4-8, depending on how hungry everyone is.)

Check out more of Belinda’s recipes on: belindajeffery

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