Chicken, Artichokes & Lemon Pickles

How to Make

• Step 1: Rinse the lemons well and slice them crosswise ¼-inch thick. Arrange half of the slices in one layer (or slightly overlapping) in the bottom of a non corrosive baking dish or pie plate and sprinkle half the salt evenly over the slices. Repeat with the remaining slices and salt, cover and leave at room temperature for at least 12 hours and up to 48 hours (your choice — although the longer they cure, the softer the texture and the stronger the flavor). Rinse the lemons and remove the seeds.

• Step 2: Pat the lemons dry after you rinse them. Only half will be used in this recipe; keep the second half, covered, in the fridge for other uses (refer to Note). The pickles will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge.

• Step 3: Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large ovenproof skillet heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on the skin side, reduce the heat to medium and working in batches if necessary (if all the chicken does not fit easily in the pan), cook the chicken, skin side down until the skin is nicely browned. Transfer the pieces to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken if it didn’t all fit in the pan the first time. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat left in the pan.

• Step 4: Pat the artichoke hearts very dry using paper towels. Add them to the skillet and cook them over medium high heat, turning them occasionally until they are golden. Turn off the heat, return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up, and add half the pickled lemon slices. Pour the wine over the skillet and put the skillet on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake the chicken for 20 minutes or until it is just cooked through. Transfer chicken, artichokes, and lemon slices to each of 8 plates and pour some of the juice from the bottom of the skillet over each portion. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve right away.

• NOTE: Once cured, there's nothing left to do but rinse off your lemon pickles and decide which of a whole range of dishes they should glorify. You can add them as a garnish to soups, stews and roasted vegetables, chop and combine them with fresh herbs to top fish, slide them into a grilled cheese sandwich, or stir them into grain dishes. I believe that the reason that this recipe doesn't indicate to "pickle" half of the lemon amount is because, normally curing lemons requires making a big batch due to needing to meet a minimum critical mass to produce enough juice to cover the lemons as they cure.