I enjoyed this dish. It was very economical as 6 legs with back on was only $6.00. It was a bit time consuming with making the stock but very satisfying making it from "scratch". Unfortunately I only had time to marinate for 2 hours and next time will marinate overnight. I left out the olives as my family doesn't like them but end result was great with a lemony taste and complex sauce. I am ashamed to admit that despite your warning of the handle being hot coming out of the oven, that I did grab it on the stove without a cloth. I'm sure I won't make that mistake again and promptly put an oven mitt on the handle!

I made this dish for a quiet little Thanksgiving with my boyfriend. I haven't used saffron in a while and particularly enjoyed it in the combination with pine nuts.
However, I was hoping for a more complex taste for the sauce. While cilantro, olives, saffron, and pine nuts make for an interesting combination, the flavors didn't fuse as harmoniously as I anticipated. It seemed to me, that especially the olives neither blended in nor stood out and ended up being somewhat distracting.
Next time I will perhaps omit the olives, add some more lemon zest to the sauce, and a good tablespoon of creme fraiche. I might also add a tablespoon of fig or apricot jam to enhance the fruitiness.

Perfect Dish. Did it just like recommended, one of the Best dishes I have ever made and my favorite Rouxbe RCP I've made so far!

I wouldn't change one thing in this recipe, including the olives,which my Husband thinks he doesn't like.
A masterful layering of flavor !

My son has an allergy to nuts. Would it hurt the dish to leave them out, or is there something I can substitute instead?

Hi George- Does your son have an allergy to all nuts or pine nuts in particular?

You can certainly omit them if there are no safe alternatives or you can use a seed (i.e sunflower) if you still want the texture that pine nuts would provide. It would yield a different flavor, of course, so it's up to you if you want to omit or substitute for a safe alternative. Good luck and let us know what you think. Enjoy!

It is all nuts according to the doctor when he was tested. They think he may outgrow it, but he does not want to try nuts yet. I will try it without the pine nuts, Thank you for the response!

If you don't want to use nuts at all, as we mentioned it is perfectly fine to leave them out entirely. However, if you still want to add something to replace the pine nuts, you could add a small amount of golden raisins. Of course the texture and flavor will be totally than the pine nuts, but it would still be nice. Hope that helps. Cheers!

Greetings All,
I too have an allergy to nuts ..... ALL NUTS.
After some reading found out that pinenuts are seeds.
I have eaten them with no problems.. i. e. wheezing, swelling, itching or trip to the emergency room.

But this can get tricky when eating pesto out. .... Walnuts vs pinenuts

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_nut

But I would still advise caution

HI- Regarding allergies, it is best to use caution. Peanuts are not botanically "nuts" either (they are legumes), but many people who are allergic to them also have "tree nut" allergies.

Coconuts are also technically seeds, but comparatively few people have a coconut allergy when compared to other allergies, but nonetheless the incidence of lesser known allergies (like sesame and coconut) is increasing.

Can I use Greek olives for this? I have some leftover form a salad I made.

Of course you can, not a problem. Any substitution changes the essence of a dish, but this will work out just fine. I hope this helps!

When I first looked at this recipe I thought it was very involved, but it looked so-o-o good that I just had to try it. It was supprisingly easy and very tasty. I made the short stock first thing in the morning, strained it and let it sit. While the stock was simmering, I marinated the chicken. everything took me about 1 3/4 hours for the first time. Then started cooking the chicken and sinishing the sauce at 5 pm. Sat down to eat at 6 pm. Wasn't nearly as bad as I thought! I substituted chopped walnuts for the pine nuts and I used our homemade pickled olives. I think I would use regular olives as the vinegar was slightly strong in the dish. When I tasted the sauce, all I could think of was "lemon explosion", but after adding the honey, it tamed the lemon down to a very delightful flavor. This will definately be made again. Excellent flavors!

For me this recipe seemed somewhat task demanding in assembling. There was lots to do in a short time! I complicated things by deciding to cook the suggested polenta recipe for the first time too. I learned, at least for me, preparing a more complicated recipe for the first time one should concentrate on that single recipe. Then maybe, with some experience, go ahead and add other new dishes or tasks the second time.

When shopping for all the ingredients, I also learned saffron is more expensive than gold! The supplier kept it locked up behind the counter! It did add an interesting flavor to the sauce and made for some great dinner conversation too!