Chicken with Snow Peas & Red Pepper Flakes
Serves 6

You can pretty much find snow peas (not the plumper sweet or sugar snap peas) all year-round, making this dish a fine midwinter, midweek meal. If you haven’t noticed, I love using fresh citrus juice and zest because it adds such a bright and sunny note to everything it touches. Don’t overcook the snow pea slivers – you want them to retain some crunch.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 (4-ounce) boneless, skin-on CHICKEN THIGHS,
   pounded to a 1/4-inch thickness
1/4 cup olive oil
2 GARLIC cloves, sliced
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Grated zest and juice of 2 ORANGES
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 pound SNOW PEAS, thinly sliced (3 cups)
2 tablespoons UNSALTED BUTTER

1. Put a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

2. Put the flour in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess.

3. Pour the oil into the pan Add all 4 pieces of chicken skin-side down and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip the chicken, add the garlic, sesame seeds, and a pinch of salt, and cook for 30 seconds.

4. Add 1/2 cup water and deglaze the pan, scraping with a wooden spoon to get up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, 1 minute. Add the orange zest and juice and red pepper flakes, cover the pan, and cook for 1 minute. Add the snow peas, cover, and cook until slightly tender, about 1 minute.

5. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter, swirling it around in the pan until fully melted. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and black pepper as needed. Serve immediately.