1 pound chicken thighs or breast
2 bulbs fennel
1 cup pitted green olives (castelvetrano or cerignola)
1 bunch parsley
1 cup pitted dates
1 cup orange juice
2 TBSP Spice by Rachel Sweet SWEET FENNEL MIX
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Coat both sides of the chicken pieces with the 2 tablespoons of SWEET FENNEL MIX and set aside on a plate while you prepare the vegetables. If using chicken breast, cut them in half so the pieces aren't too big (takes longer to cook!).
Slice the fronds off of the fennel bulbs and slice into half rings. Add these pieces to a glass baking dish (9 x 13 is a good size here). Slice the pitted olives in half lengthwise and add these to the dish on top of the fennel pieces. Slice the stems off the parsley and mince. Sprinkle the parsley over the rest of the ingredients in the dish. Cut the pitted dates in half or in thirds so that they are roughly the same size as the olives and add to the dish on top of the parsley. Finally, pour the orange juice over the ingredients in the dish and top with the seasoned, raw chicken pieces.
Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for 50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F in the thickest part. Remove from the oven and let sit 5 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
