Roast Chicken & Fennel with Clementines & Olives

Here is one of the most aromatic dishes you will make, and it’s perfect for family or dinner parties.

When your husband comes home and says “What smells so good?”  you will be proud to answer “just a little chicken dish I threw together.”

Mediterranean and Levantine Flavours Collide

This dish has a party of flavours thanks to the bright citrus profile, accompanied by scented fennel and aniseed, clementines (or oranges), bright briny green olives, the warm bite of grainy mustard, and the best change from wine imaginable.  Chicken really loves all of these flavours.  My favourite is the way the briny olives balance the tender sweetness of the roasted fennel.

Arak and its Cousins

Arak, like Ouzo or Pernod is an anise based liqueur, with a distinctly liquorice undertone.  Arak is the Middle Eastern equivalent Greek Ouzo or French Pastis or Pernod, but is actually older than all of them.  And I’m sure that other cultures have their versions as well.  I find Arak less sweet than some others, but a little more potent.  It is a lovely digestif served over ice, or to be enjoyed on a hot day on a patio with all sorts of mezze plates. Any of the above versions will work fantastically in this dish, so use what you have in the liquor cabinet.

Marinate

The first thing you will do is make a marinade out of the arak, olive oil, grainy mustard, lemon and lime juices, zest, and light brown sugar.  The chicken pieces (you can use a whole chicken cut up into 8 pieces, or just use legs or thighs if that is what floats your boat) as well as thickly sliced fennel (save the fronds for the end), clementine slices, and olives are added to a large container with a lid, and covered with the marinade to get a good coating.  You will turn the pieces over in the marinade to coat well. Transfer and marinate for a good 4 hours to overnight.  Don’t feel bad if you started this too late and only have an hour or so to marinate, it will still taste fine. Turn occasionally to make sure everything is marinating evenly.

Roast

When it comes time to roasting, lay everything out on a baking sheet so that it can all lay in a single layer, or as close to this as possible.  Add some crushed fennel seeds and chilli flakes.  Pop it into the oven until the chicken is browned and cooked through to 165F. Ideally use a baking sheet or baking pan that doesn’t have too high of sides.  This will help in the browning of the meat. If the chicken is cooked through, but you still want a bit more colour, feel free to switch to the broil setting for a few minutes.

How to Serve

Scatter the reserved fennel fronds over the finished dish set out on a serving platter. Save the juices at the bottom of the pan.  These dripping will be fantastic over rice, roasted or baked mini potatoes, or even farro, barley or your favourite grain.  The combination of the bright and tangy citrus, the slight warm bite of the mustard, and the arak scented marinade, as well as the succulent chicken juices combine for a pan dripping worthy to be sopped up with crusty bread to the last drop.

Adaptions

Feel free to swap out lemon slices for the clementines. If you can’t source clementines, you can use oranges or mandarins. Switch the fennel out for cauliflower florets, or even par-cooked mini fingerling potatoes.  Yes, you can switch the arak for white wine. Add whole garlic cloves to the mix if you desire.

Final Thoughts

This dish is all about the marinade.  If you take the time to marinate the meat and vegetables, you will be thrilled with a most aromatic and juicy meal.  The aromas will make your neighbours jealous, wishing they had been invited over.  This meal is definitely one that can be made all year round. But in the middle of winter, it does feel like a moment of summer.  The time in the oven is only about 45 minutes, so with a little planning, you can make this during the week.  Leftovers are even better the next day! I think arak or one of its counterparts makes for a delicious change from the typical white wine chicken dish, even though my Chicken in White Wine and Mustard Sauce is also brilliant! (imho)

Love Jen

5 from 1 vote

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Roast Chicken and Fennel with Clementines and Olives

A rich cacophony of flavours from tart to tangy to hot to sweet combine in the beautiful chicken sheet pan meal. Fennel and clementines join chicken pieces to roast till aromatic and browned. Perfect all year round.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Levantine

Keyword arak, castelvetrano olives, chicken, clementines, fennel

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Marinating 6 hours

Servings 4

Ingredients

Marinade

• 6 1/2 tbsp arak, or 100 ml, see Notes
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• Zest from one orange, use the orange for the below
• 3 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
• 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tbsp grainy mustard
• 3 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes, plus more for garnish

Chicken

• 1 large chicken, cut into 8 pieces, about 2 3/4 lb or 1/3 kg, see Notes
• 2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed of tough outer leaves, and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 4 medium clementines, scrubbed, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 3/4 cup Castelvetrano or other briny green olive, or more if you really like olives
• 2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed lightly
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Marinade

1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and whisk.
2. Place the chicken pieces, fennel slices, clementine slices, and olives in a large container which will hold everything snuggly. Pour the marinade over it all. Turn everything to get evenly coated. Place the lid on the container and store in the fridge for 6 hours, or overnight. Can do with a shorter marinating time if necessary.

Roast

1. Preheat the oven to 475F.
2. Place everything from the container onto a baking sheet or pan. It should be large enough that hopefully most will sit on one layer. Drizzle the marinade over everything. Scatter the fennel seeds over it all.

3. Roast on the centre rack until the chicken is 165F and golden brown, about 45-50 minutes, depending on your oven, and the size of the chicken. If you want more colour and everything is cooked through, feel free to use the broiler for a minute or so, but keep an eye on it. Finish with a final sprinkle of salt and pepper.

4. Serve with the juices, drizzling some over everything. Save some for the rice, potatoes ete that you wish to serve along side the chicken. Add a little chilli flake over everything for a bit of a kick.

Recipe Notes

Feel free to replace the arak with ouzo or pernod
You can use whole legs, drumsticks or thighs, bone-in and skin on instead of a whole chicken. Try to use at least the equivalent weight.

Inspired by Roast Chicken with Fennel and Clementines from 'Jerusalem' by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, taking it somewhere even a bit more adventurous!