Broiler Blood Orange and Rosemary Chicken

FASTER

GLUTEN-FREE

Makes 4 servings

By starting the chicken thighs skin side down, you cook them quite a bit before turning them over and crisping the skin under the hot broiler element. The chicken, of course, takes much longer than the fennel—and thus the vegetable is added later.

2 pounds small bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (about 8 ounces each)

1 tablespoon finely grated blood orange zest

⅔ cup freshly squeezed blood orange juice (from about 3 blood oranges)

⅓ cup olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

½ teaspoon table salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 medium fennel bulbs, thinly sliced into strips

1 medium garlic head, broken into cloves but not peeled

1 baguette loaf, cut into slices and toasted

1. Position an oven rack 6 to 8 inches from the broiler element; heat the broiler.

2. Place the chicken thighs skin side down on a large lipped baking sheet and broil for 10 minutes, until the meat and even the exposed bone have browned, maybe even blackened in a couple of places.

3. Meanwhile, whisk the blood orange zest and juice, the olive oil, vinegar, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a small bowl until uniform.

4. Turn the chicken pieces over (now skin side up) and sprinkle the fennel strips and garlic cloves around the pan (but not on the chicken). Pour the juice mixture over everything.

5. Continue broiling, basting everything twice, until the chicken skin has browned and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a couple of pieces (without touching bone) registers 165°F, about 10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. To serve, squeeze the soft garlic onto the bread slices (discarding the skins) and serve the chicken and vegetables with any remaining pan juices drizzled over them. When eating, feel free to use the garlic-coated bread rounds to sop up those juices.

Test Kitchen Notes

• Use only smaller 8-ounce chicken thighs for this recipe, not the larger 12-ounce or even 1-pound thighs.

• Blood oranges add a slight “berry” flavor to the dish. If you can’t find blood oranges, substitute fresh orange juice, but mash about 2 tablespoons fresh raspberries into it for the right flavor.

• To thinly slice a fennel bulb into strips, trim off the stalks and fronds, as well as any browned outside leaves. Slice the bulb in half top to bottom, then thinly slice these halves, breaking up the slices into strips with your fingers.

• Since you’re using medium fennel bulbs (8 to 10 ounces each), there’s no need to remove their cores.

Voilà! Use scissors for mincing fresh herbs directly into soups, stews, and pan sauces.