Gluten free and low FODMAP orange and fennel chicken thighs! With feta and olives and the best crispy chicken skin. This, friends, is such a simple, colourful dish that requires minimal effort and all comes together in one pot. After a few minutes of frying chicken on the hob – gotta get that crispy skin – the oven does all the hard work in this recipe, leaving you time to think about what you’re going to serve it with (pictured: silky sour cream mash, but rice or greens are also good).
The fennel cooks almost like (low FODMAP!) onions, melting down and getting slightly charred at the edges; the aniseedy flavour mellowing as it roasts. Maple syrup encourages the mingling of everything together to create a sweet, sticky sauce. Olives add tang while creamy feta and herby parsley finish everything off. With few ingredients, buy the best quality you can afford for maximum flavour.
There are three main varieties of blood orange: Tarocco (December-May); Moro (January-February); and Sanguinello (March-May). Their colours vary from lightly blushing to deep ruby red, but all have short seasons at the start of the year, so get your hands on them while you can! Search for blood oranges that feel heavy for their size and that are firm to the touch – I buy them from my local greengrocers but most supermarkets sell them now too. Sweet and refreshing, their tart and tangy juice cuts through the delicious fat from the chicken thighs, but regular navel oranges also work wonderfully in this recipe if you’re out of luck.
Recipe notes for these v. sumptuous low FODMAP orange and fennel chicken thighs:
garlic infused olive oil
8 good quality skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
1 teaspoon sea salt
150g fennel, trimmed and finely sliced
4 tablespoons maple syrup
4 blood oranges
75g green olives, pitted and halved
100g feta
small bunch parsley, leaves picked
extra virgin olive oil (optional)
Serve with fluffy white rice or new potatoes
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