In the world of ingredients that make me happy, artichokes and lemons are pretty high up there.  I loved artichokes as a kid, but now they remind me of a friend named Maggie and our mutual semester abroad, too.  It’s hard to beat a food that’s delicious and reminds me of my favorite place in the world (and a few favorite people).  Why the semester abroad memories?  Well, Maggie made some form of artichoke side dish what seemed like once a week during that semester.  It was the first time I saw artichokes as a food that could be added to everyday life, not just cooked up once a year for special occasions.

Anyway, add artichokes to my definite favorite lemons, and I’m sold.  Thus I chose Lemon and Artichoke Chicken as my second option from Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilipo.

It’s official, I’m a fan of this cookbook.  Two winners that are definitely healthy and full of flavor?  Color me impressed.  Now I just have to try the other many dozen recipes.  For now, we’ll focus on this one.  It has all of the flavor of chicken piccata without the floury calories.  It does have some butter, but that’s just magic.  No calories there.  (Yes, I know that’s not true.  But you could use coconut oil or something else if you prefer to avoid butter.)

If good health and good taste aren’t enough to hook you on a recipe, baking at the end of the prep time is a winner for me.  I had plenty of time to scrub the dried food off of our kitchen counter and wash all of the dirty dishes.  I even got to sit down with a glass of wine before the food finished baking.  Woohoo!

Chicken with Artichokes and Lemon

Prep time: 10 minutes (or less)
Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 2-4 tablespoons of butter or coconut oil
• 1/4 of an onion, thinly sliced
• 1 14 oz. can of artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained (I actually used 2 cans, but I think 1 would make for a slightly better balance of all the flavors)
• 1/4 cup capers, drained
• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 lbs. bone-in, skin-on chicken (thighs for an inexpensive option)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place a large, oven-safe skillet over medium heat and melt 2 tablespoons of butter or coconut oil.
3. Add the sliced onion to the pan, and sauté until translucent. Add the artichoke hearts, capers, and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
4. Place the chicken pieces in the skillet with all of the veggies/sauce (kind of wedged into the other goodness).  Top each piece with a sliver of butter, add salt and pepper to taste, and place entire skillet into the oven for 45 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.