Artichoke Ratatouille Chicken

April. Mami's birthday month. Luz María Ortiz turns eighty-four on April 7th, and this year — this year — I will celebrate it properly. Not the pandemic birthday of 2020, the flan-on-the-doorstep birthday, the phone-call-where-she-thought-I-was-Marisol birthday. This year: a party. A small one, because Mami's energy cannot sustain a large one, but a real one, with cake and family and the physical presence of people she loves in the room where she sits.

The party was Saturday. At Mami's apartment because moving her to my house exhausts her now, and the apartment is her territory, the space she knows by touch and habit even when the mind is uncertain. I brought everything: flan (the birthday flan, the one with the extra-caramelized edge), arroz con pollo, ensalada de coditos, and a cake — a tres leches, because Mami loves tres leches and because David taught me his version, the one with the espresso, and I made it with the espresso because David's version is better than mine and I will admit this to you, mi amor, but I will never admit it to him.

Sofía came. Ana came from Bridgeport. Eduardo sat in the corner and smiled. Mami sat in her recliner, eighty-four, small, wrapped in the cashmere shawl, and she looked at the flan and she looked at me and she said, Is this for me? I said, Happy birthday, Mami. She said, How old am I? I said, Eighty-four. She said, That cannot be right. I said, It is right. She said, I feel thirty. I said, You cook like thirty. She said, I don't cook anymore. I said, You supervise. That counts. She considered this. She accepted this. She ate the flan. She said, More vanilla. I laughed until I cried, which is how Delgado women laugh — with everything, including the tears.

The arroz con pollo I brought to Mami’s apartment that Saturday is her recipe, the one she taught me when I was nine and could barely reach the stove — but this Artichoke Ratatouille Chicken is the dish I make when I want that same feeling of abundance and care without the two-day production. It is the kind of recipe that says I showed up, that fills a room with smell before it fills a plate with food, and after a birthday like this one — after watching Mami close her eyes over a forkful of flan and say more vanilla like she was still in charge of everything — I needed a recipe I could share with you that carries that same spirit of a table that means something.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 lbs total)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch half-moons
1 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/2-inch half-moons
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, with juices
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn, for serving
Crusty bread or steamed rice, for serving

Instructions

Season the chicken. Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season all over with 3/4 teaspoon salt and the black pepper.
Sear the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs skin-side down and sear undisturbed for 6–8 minutes until the skin is deep golden brown. Flip and sear the other side for 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
Build the ratatouille base. Reduce heat to medium. In the same pan, add onion and cook 3–4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant. Stir in zucchini, yellow squash, and red bell pepper. Season with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add tomatoes and seasoning. Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juices. Add artichoke hearts, thyme, oregano, and smoked paprika. Stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Braise the chicken. Nestle the seared chicken thighs back into the pan, skin-side up, pressing them gently into the vegetable mixture. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and cook over medium-low heat for 25–30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and registers 165°F at the thickest part.
Finish and serve. Uncover for the final 5 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken slightly and the chicken skin to crisp back up. Scatter torn fresh basil over the top. Serve directly from the pan with crusty bread or steamed rice to soak up the sauce.

Nutrition (per serving)

Artichoke Ratatouille Chicken — The Dish That Holds a Table Together