One-Pot Wonders

Crispy Chicken Thighs With Garlic & Artichokes Are a Weeknight Win

Ready in 45 minutes flat.

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September 29, 2020

We've teamed up with Miele to streamline your weeknight dinner routine with smart, delicious recipes the whole family will want to dig into. Here, cookbook author and recipe developer Samantha Seneviratne shares her go-to ingredient for making one-pan chicken thighs—roasted to golden-crisp goodness in the Miele M Touch Convection Oven—a winner, winner.


Back in culinary school, learning how to “turn” (aka clean and trim) an artichoke was considered an essential part of the core curriculum. One day in class, Jacques Pépin—world-renowned chef and one of the deans of my school—was mulling about the kitchen, watching and critiquing everyone’s form. I prayed that he wouldn’t look my way, but he pulled up right beside me.

With a bowl of acidulated water (just water with a bit of vinegar or lemon juice, which prevents the vegetable from browning after you cut it) in hand, he showed me the technique. Using a sharp paring knife, and a lifetime of practice, he removed all the woody leaves and pesky thorns in seconds—the only thing left was a a beautifully smooth, round, yellow heart. He chucked it into the water and let it bob around while he repeated the process, and then encouraged me to try.

My first attempts were pitiful, lopsided, and wasteful. After a few more unsuccessful tries, he let out a big sigh and moved on without comment.

Years have passed since, and my knife skills have improved considerably. That said, who has the time to turn artichokes these days? I definitely want to eat them—all earthy, sweet, and buttery—but I don’t want to deal with the painstaking process of prepping each one by hand. Thankfully, there’s a wonderful way to enjoy artichokes all year round without any hassle.

Take a stroll over to your local antipasti bar; many grocery stores and Italian markets are outfitted with one of these beauties. There you’ll find bins of milky bocconcini (small mozzarella balls), glistening olives of all shapes and sizes, multicolored roasted peppers, and—my favorite—gorgeous marinated artichokes.

Even if the antipasti bar is closed right now, you can usually find most of the offerings packed up for you and ready to go. But don’t worry, if you can’t find marinated artichokes, the canned and jarred varieties are easy to come by and great in a pinch.

Miele's M Touch Convection Oven makes these weeknight-friendly chicken thighs extra tender, thanks to handy features like Moisture Plus. Photo by Tim Morrish

My go-to for weeknight dinners when I’m short on time and energy, marinated artichokes pack a ton of flavor—especially in this roasted chicken thighs dish that requires little effort and dirties very few dishes. As a bonus, it includes a main and a side dish in one single pot. In other words, it hits all the right marks.

The addition of toasted pearl couscous, which stays pleasantly chewy even as it soaks up the flavor and moisture from the chicken and marinated artichokes, makes this dish feel nice and hearty. The garlicky panko is just a little bit of lily gilding; I like it for added crunch and the brightness that comes with lemon zest and fresh parsley. It’s an extra step to make, but it’s no fuss—just toast the panko in the oven while you brown the chicken on the stovetop.

With a little multitasking, this dish can be made in about 45 minutes from start to finish, leaving more time to eat and enjoy with the ones that you’re feeding.

I may never turn a fresh artichoke again, but I think that Jacques Pépin would still be proud.


What's your favorite low-effort, high-reward weeknight dinner? Tell us in the comments!

These one-pan chicken thighs with marinated artichokes are a winning dinner any night of the week, especially when you're using the M Touch Convection Oven from our pals at Miele. With smart-as-heck features like Moisture Plus, which adds a range of humidity to the cooking process for optimal results, this oven makes a functional-meets-beautiful upgrade to any home cook's favorite space (the kitchen!).

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A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match ‘em through the week).

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Writer. Baker. Sticky bun maker.

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