It's time for another edition of Chook Fest! I admittedly have not done one in a while. For the last year, I've played it safe and was eating simple (but flavorful) food. I didn't do a lot of experimentation either. Most weekends, I craved for comfort food, so I stuck with the usual menu and those that I can take to work easily. Also, in an effort to eat healthier, I take salads to work in some days.Today though, I bought chicken thighs to roast for mom but didn't get the time to do so. We kept on changing our plans everyday to see what else we can fit into our day - not that it was extremely busy. I also saw to it that she'll get some time to have walks (exercise!) and time for her to do some of her work in advance before going home.
For this dish, I just used whatever food I have left in the fridge. Honestly, it was a tasty dish and the olives added so much flavor and bite to the wilted spinach. A note for next time would be to chop up the olives so that they can mix easily into the wilted spinach but aside from that, this is very simple to cook.
I used my trusty cast iron skillet. I just simply love using this piece of equipment in the kitchen. I cook with it regularly now and I'm sure this will last me a lifetime before I replace it. It does take some simple steps to care for but it is definitely worth it.
Recipe after the jump!
For the chicken, I only used salt as my flavoring agent and that was it. I heated up a cast iron skillet on medium high with some oil. I cooked the chicken thighs skin down first to get a nice crispy skin. Oh, don't forget to crank up the oven to 180C to preheat it while you're cooking the chicken thighs. Once the chicken skins was nicely browned (takes about 5-10 minutes), flip them over to cook for another 5-10 minutes. At this stage, I poured in some leftover chicken juices that I had from the last roast chicken meal that I made. Let that bubble a bit (it will spit!) and place the skillet in the oven to cook for another 15-20 minutes (mine only took 15 minutes).
Once the chicken thighs are cooked, transfer them to a plate and keep warm. Pour off 2/3 of the pan juices and leave some behind. Add the spinach and let the remaining heat in the skillet wilt the spinach. If you like your spinach completely wilted, turn your cook top to medium low. As the spinach wilts, add the stuffed olives around 1/2 cup. Stir until the olives are heated through. You can of course use whole pitted olives for this recipe. I think the green ones will be best suited here because I find the black ones have a stronger more sour taste.
Serve up!
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