Garlic Balsamic Caprese Chicken

January in full force. Room 108 is back and the kids are exactly as they left off before break, which is both the ordinary thing and the thing you never take for granted — that they come back, that the room is still there, that what was built in September is still standing in January. Isabel wore the crown again on the first day back. She had brought it home over break and brought it back. Some things you hold onto. The right things, you hold onto.

Ryan was on shift Monday and Tuesday, then came over Wednesday evening. We have fallen into a rhythm now: his shift days and his off days and the days that are mine, the way two people with complicated schedules learn to live around each other's absences and into each other's presence. He brings things when he comes: the tomatoes in summer, the rosemary oil, a jar of his grandmother's preserved lemons this week. He said she was clearing out her pantry and thought I would use them. He was right. I am already using them.

Made preserved lemon chicken this week — chicken thighs braised with the grandmother's preserved lemons and olives and garlic and chicken broth, Moroccan-ish, not strictly authentic but correct in its spirit. The preserved lemons go in whole and their bitterness and salt and brightness work into the braise. Under four dollars for six servings. Ryan ate two servings and texted his grandmother to say it was good. She texted back a thumbs up. He showed me. I said: that thumb emoji is the highest possible compliment. He said she is getting better at the phone. I said: so is Patty. He said "They would get along." Yes. They absolutely would.

The book is getting closer. I can see the last chapter now — it is going to be about the recipe notebook. About writing down what Babcia Rose knows. About what it means to carry a kitchen forward, the recipes that were in someone's head for sixty years now on paper. The ending is the notebook. The ending is: I have them. I always will. I am writing toward it. I am almost there.

Ryan’s grandmother sent those preserved lemons for a reason, and I think she knew exactly what I would do with them — something low and slow, something that lets the brine and the brightness work their way into every corner of the pot. This garlic-forward chicken is the dish that came out of that impulse: deeply savory, a little tangy, the kind of thing that feels like it took all day even when it didn’t. It is the right recipe for a Wednesday evening when someone has shown up with something from his grandmother’s pantry and you want to make it count.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 lbs total)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Season the chicken. Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season both sides with salt and pepper.
Sear. Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs skin-side down and sear without moving for 6–7 minutes, until the skin is deep golden brown. Flip and sear the other side for 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.
Build the sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring, for 1 minute until fragrant. Add balsamic vinegar and honey, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in chicken broth and lemon juice and bring to a simmer.
Braise. Return chicken thighs to the skillet, skin-side up. Add cherry tomatoes around the chicken. Cover loosely with a lid or foil and cook over medium-low heat for 18–20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and registers 165°F at the thickest part.
Finish with mozzarella. Remove skillet from heat. Lay mozzarella slices over the chicken thighs and let rest 3–4 minutes, until the cheese is just softened and beginning to melt from the residual heat.
Garnish and serve. Scatter torn fresh basil over the top. Spoon the pan sauce and tomatoes over each serving. Serve directly from the skillet with crusty bread or over rice to catch the sauce.

Nutrition (per serving)

Garlic Balsamic Caprese Chicken — The Grandmother’s Lemons, and What We Pass On