Cast Iron Chicken + Asparagus with Lemony Olive Salsa Verde

This is one of my ultimate favorite spring dinners because it is PACKED with flavor and comes together so quickly. The chicken is juicy and the asparagus soaks up all of that delicious pan juice as it cooks in the oven with the chicken. The bright, acidic, fresh salsa verde takes everything over the top and is so versatile with all different types of protein! I even love it drizzled over a fried egg in the morning.

If you’d like to watch a step-by-step, here’s the link to my Tuesday Tutorial with this dish!

Serves 4.

INGREDIENTS

For the Salsa Verde:

• 1/3 cup packed fresh dill

• 1/3 cup packed fresh mint

• 1 cup packed fresh parsley

• 1 Tbsp minced green garlic (or 1 clove minced garlic)

• 1 Tbsp minced preserved lemon rind (or zest from 1 lemon)

• Juice from 1/2 of a lemon

• 1 Tbsp champagne vinegar

• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 heaping cup castelvetrano olives, pitted and roughly chopped

• 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

• Kosher salt

For the Chicken + Asparagus:

• 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 lbs)

• Kosher Salt

• Black pepper

• 1 bunch asparagus

• 3 Tbsp Avocado oil (or any neutral oil), divided

METHOD

1. Make the lemony olive salsa verde:

   1. Add the herbs, minced garlic, minced preserved lemon rind, lemon juice, and vinegar to a food processor. Pulse until the herbs are minced — you may need to scrape down the sides to get everything uniformly minced. Slowly stream in the olive oil.

   2. Add the castelvetrano olives to the mixture in the food processor and pulse a few times until the olives are roughly chopped. We still want some texture from the olives, so try to avoid over-mixing.

   3. Transfer the salsa verde to a bowl and fold in the mustard seeds along with a pinch of kosher salt, to taste. Set aside to allow the mustard seeds to plump up while you cook the chicken and asparagus.

2. Cook the chicken + asparagus:

   1. Pre-heat the oven to 425°F.

   2. Pat the chicken dry and season on all sides with kosher salt and black pepper. Toss the asparagus in a large bowl with 1 Tbsp of the avocado oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.

   3. Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat. Once screaming hot, add in the remaining 2 Tbsp avocado oil. Nestle the chicken thighs in the pan, skin side down and sear for 5-7 minutes over high heat until the skin is crispy and golden brown.

   4. Flip the chicken so that it’s skin side up and scatter the seasoned asparagus in the crevices of the pan.

   5. Transfer to the oven to cook for 15-18 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers 165°F when inserted into the thickest part of the largest chicken thigh.

   6. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter along with the asparagus. Top everything generously with the salsa verde and enjoy!