Chicken with Artichoke and Tomato

The artichokes are getting ready to bloom, and I still have one bag left from last year's harvest.  Oops.

I was thinking of a sauce to have with roasted chicken and pasta, and decided to flavor some oil with the vegetables roasted alongside the chicken.  A little garlic and herbs later, we have a lovely Mediterranean baked dinner.

*4 chicken thighs
*8 oz artichoke hearts, drained if canned or thawed if frozen
1 lb Roma tomatoes
*8-10 cloves garlic, peeled
*about 12 kalamata or green olives, pitted preferred
1/4 C olive oil
1 tsp Italian seasoning or 1/4 tsp each dried rosemary, parsley, marjoram and oregano
salt and pepper to taste
crumbled feta for garnish
*linguine or farfalle for serving, optional

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Arrange chicken evenly in a 9x13 casserole or a 12" round.

2.  Cut any large artichoke pieces in half.  Core the tomatoes and cut into quarters, or smaller wedges if the tomatoes are huge.  Arrange in the casserole with the peeled garlic and olives.

3.  Drizzle the oil evenly over the ingredients.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and herbs.  Roast until the chicken is 160º, about 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let rest until it stops bubbling.  Be careful, the level of the liquid will be higher than when you put it in the oven.

4.  If having with pasta, start boiling the water at the 30 minute mark.  It should be done by the time the casserole has finished resting.

5.  Serve hot, with plenty of pan juices used as the sauce.

Difficulty rating  π