Lemon-Rosemary Chicken Thighs with Honey-Thyme Roasted Carrots and Parsnips and Lemony Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

Golden, crispy-skinned chicken thighs marinated in lemon, garlic, and rosemary, with sweet roasted carrots and parsnips and bright, garlicky green beans topped with toasted almonds. A cozy, Mediterranean-style weeknight classic that comes together in one oven.

Yield: 4 servings · Active: 35 min · Total: 1 hr (plus 30 min-2 hr marinating) · Year-round (in North America, carrots and parsnips are sweetest fall through winter, and green beans peak in summer) · Best eaten: early evening

Complete Menu

• Lemon-Rosemary Chicken Thighs

• Honey-Thyme Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

• Lemony Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

Your Game Plan

• 30 min-2 hr ahead: Marinate the chicken.

• About 1 hr out: Heat the oven to 425°F. Pull the chicken from the fridge.

• About 50 min out: Carrots and parsnips go into the oven.

• About 35 min out: Sear the chicken, then move it to the oven.

• About 15 min out: Blanch and sauté the green beans, and toast the almonds.

• While the chicken rests: Plate everything.

Recipe 1 — Lemon-Rosemary Chicken Thighs

Yield: 4 servings · Active: 15 min · Total: 45 min (plus 30 min-2 hr marinating)

Ingredients

• 6-8 pasture-raised bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 lb)

Lemon-rosemary marinade

• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• Zest of 2 lemons

• 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced

• 4 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

• 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

• 1½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt

• 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

• Optional: 1 tbsp honey (balances the acid)

• Optional: pinch of red pepper flakes

To finish

• 2 tbsp grass-fed butter

• Fresh lemon wedges

• Fresh rosemary sprigs

• Flaky sea salt

Method

1. Marinate. Whisk together all the marinade ingredients, add the chicken, and turn to coat. Refrigerate 30 minutes to 2 hours; longer gives deeper flavor.

2. Take the chill off. Pull the chicken from the fridge 20-30 minutes before cooking, and heat the oven to 425°F.

3. Sear. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat (no extra oil needed; the marinade has plenty). Lay the thighs skin-side down and sear 5-6 minutes, until the skin is deeply golden and crisp. Keep the heat at medium so the garlic and herbs in the marinade don't scorch.

4. Roast. Flip the thighs skin-side up and slide the skillet into the oven. Roast 20-25 minutes, until the thickest part reads at least 165°F; thighs are even more tender at 175°F.

5. Butter. Dot each thigh with a little butter for the last 3-4 minutes.

6. Rest 5-8 minutes, then finish with rosemary sprigs, flaky salt, and lemon wedges.

Recipe 2 — Honey-Thyme Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

Yield: 4 servings · Active: 10 min · Total: 40 min

Ingredients

• 1 lb carrots, cut into 3-inch sticks

• 1 lb parsnips, peeled and cut into 3-inch sticks (halve any thick tops so the pieces are even)

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or ghee

• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

• 1 tsp Baja Gold sea salt

• ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

• 1 tbsp raw honey

• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Method

1. Toss the carrots and parsnips with the olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper, and spread them in a single layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan.

2. Roast at 425°F for 25 minutes, tossing once.

3. Glaze. Drizzle with the honey, toss, and roast 5 minutes more, until caramelized and tender. Adding the honey at the end keeps it from burning.

4. Finish with the parsley.

Recipe 3 — Lemony Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

Yield: 4 servings · Active: 15 min · Total: 15 min

Ingredients

• 1 lb green beans, trimmed

• ⅓ cup sliced almonds

• 2 tbsp grass-fed butter

• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• Zest and juice of ½ lemon

• ½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt

• Freshly cracked black pepper

Method

1. Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring, 3-4 minutes until golden. Set them aside.

2. Blanch. Boil the green beans in salted water 2-3 minutes, until bright green and crisp-tender, then drain well.

3. Sauté. Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium heat, add the garlic for 30 seconds, then add the green beans and toss 2 minutes.

4. Finish with the lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper, and the toasted almonds.

Plating

Set a golden chicken thigh on each warm plate with a pile of roasted carrots and parsnips and a tangle of green beans. Spoon the buttery pan juices over the chicken and finish with rosemary, lemon wedges, and flaky salt.

Sourcing (essential picks)

• Chicken thighs — pasture-raised, from a local farm raising birds on pasture, or White Oak Pastures

• Carrots, parsnips, and green beans — organic, from a farmers' market

• Almonds — organic and unpasteurized; U.S. almonds are pasteurized by law even when labeled "raw," so look for Spanish almonds such as Terrasoul's

• Fresh rosemary, thyme, and parsley — organic

• Garlic — organic hardneck garlic

• Lemons — organic (you're using the zest)

• Grass-fed butter and ghee — organic, cultured butter from 100% grass-fed cows, raw butter from a local dairy, or Ancient Organics ghee

• Honey — organic, local, and unfiltered

• Extra virgin olive oil — organic, single-estate, harvest-dated within the past year, in dark glass

• Baja Gold sea salt for cooking; fleur de sel de Guérande or Maldon for finishing

Storage

• Cooked chicken: Refrigerated up to 4 days

• Roasted carrots and parsnips: Refrigerated up to 4 days. Reheat at 400°F for 5 minutes

• Green beans: Refrigerated up to 3 days

Leftover transformations: Shred cold chicken into lettuce wraps with a squeeze of lemon; toss leftover roasted roots and green beans with pastured eggs for a breakfast hash; slice chicken over greens with toasted almonds for a next-day lunch salad.

Nourishment Notes

Pasture-raised chicken thighs — B12, choline, zinc, iron, complete protein, and collagen from the bone-in, skin-on cut.

Carrots and parsnips — beta-carotene (in the carrots), folate, potassium, and fiber. Roasting with fat helps you absorb the carotenoids.

Green beans — vitamin K, vitamin C, folate, and fiber.

Almonds — vitamin E, magnesium, and monounsaturated fats.

Rosemary and thyme — rosmarinic acid, carnosic acid, and thymol.

Garlic — allicin and organosulfur compounds.

Lemon — vitamin C and d-limonene.

Grass-fed butter — CLA, K2, butyrate, and beta-carotene.

Extra virgin olive oil — oleic acid and polyphenols.

Baja Gold sea salt — over 90 trace minerals.

— Anna aka Food Marshall