Pat the chicken legs dry and season with salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (180 °C fan).
Heat the olive oil and a little of the butter or ghee in an ovenproof frying pan. Brown the chicken legs skin side down until the skin is golden and crispy.
Turn the legs and add the remaining butter or ghee, the garlic and the thyme to the pan. Slice the lemon, squeeze a little juice over the chicken and add the remaining slices.
Pour the chicken stock in at the side so the skin stays crispy. Put the pan in the oven and cook the chicken at 200 °C for 25–30 min until cooked through and the sauce looks slightly reduced.
Leave the legs to rest briefly. Leave the thyme and soft lemon slices in the pan or remove some of them, as you like.
Drizzle the chicken legs with the lemony butter juices and serve straight from the pan.
Good to know
An oven dish like this doesn't make a fuss but still delivers loads of flavour. The sauce turns deep, lemony and rounded, and the chicken stays juicy.
Swaps
Butter → ghee (fewer milk solids, still dairy); chicken legs → boneless chicken thighs (also provide protein, easier to eat); chicken stock → bone broth (also contains minerals); thyme → rosemary (similarly aromatic, also contains plant compounds).
Allergens
Contains milk (butter or ghee – ghee is also a dairy product, even if it contains only traces of milk protein). Good for children if the lemon and pepper are kept mild; in pregnancy, only serve the chicken cooked right through.
