Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Blueberry Maple Walnut Compote

The firewood is stacked, the foliage is turning to hues of bright red, burnt orange and golden yellow.  This rustic style Lemon Rosemary Chicken with our Wild Blueberry Maple Walnut Compote is the perfect fix for a cool Fall day.  Lemon and blueberries are a complimentary pairing and this recipe provides a nice balance of sweet and savory.  Chicken thighs are seared on the stove top so they are nice and crispy and then baked in the oven with lemon, rosemary, thyme and garlic.  Just near the end of cooking, our Wild Blueberry Maple Walnut Compote is spooned over top and baked for a just a few minutes adding a nice sweet and savory finish to the dish.  The rest of the compote is warmed on the stove top and served on the table for extra drizzling of sauce (which I highly recommend :)  

Ingredients 

8 Chicken Thighs (bone in - skin on)
3 Lemons (2 for juicing and zesting, 1 for slicing)
Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
Fresh Thyme Sprigs
Fresh Large Whole Garlic cut in half
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to season
Wozz! Wild Blueberry Maple Walnut Compote 

Method 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine juice of 2 lemons and zest of 1 lemon. Set aside.  Take your 3rd lemon and slice it rounds (keep this aside for placing under chicken when cooking).

Rub chicken thighs in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 

In a large skillet (preferably one that can transfer directly to oven), on medium high heat, add enough olive oil to just cover bottom of pan, sear chicken breasts starting with skin side down for approximately 5 minutes on each side, cook until both sides are nicely browned.

Turn stove top heat off.

Pour lemon juice with zest over chicken.

Add fresh sliced lemons underneath chicken thighs, add garlic cut in half (it is okay to leave husk on garlic) and fresh sprigs of thyme and rosemary to pan.  Bake in oven at 425 degrees for 35 minutes or until cooked through. 

Remove from oven, with a spoon gather some pan juices and baste over top of each chicken thigh so they get a nice shine. Add a couple spoonfuls of Wozz! Wild Blueberry Maple Compote to top of each chicken thigh.  Return to oven and bake an additional 5 minutes.  

Serve with additional Wild Blueberry Maple Walnut Compote on the table (preferably warmed on the stove top for a few minutes) so you can add as much extra compote to your chicken as you desire.  

We served this with side of crispy red potatoes and green beans.