Pat the chicken thighs completely dry with paper towels, then season on both sides with 1 teaspoon of the salt and all of the black pepper. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes while you prep the rest.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken skin-side down and sear undisturbed for 6-7 minutes until deep golden and crisp, then flip and cook 5 more minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, the garlic, lemon zest, and thyme; cook 1 minute until fragrant. Pour in the chicken broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Lay the lemon slices and asparagus in the skillet, season the asparagus with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, then nestle the chicken back on top skin-side up. Cover and simmer 8-10 minutes until the asparagus is tender and the chicken reaches 165°F.
Sprinkle with red pepper flakes if using and serve straight from the skillet.
Kept Recipes turns anything — a screenshot, a webpage, a craving — into a clean cookbook page like this one. No ads, no accounts, yours to keep.
Get the app