Are you ready for an easy and delicious chicken recipe that you could make for dinner this week? Look no further. Here it is!
A couple of weeks ago I was struggling to think of what I could make for dinner that would be both amazingly delicious and not take me forever as usual. I already planned to make couscous and figured I should have some protein to go along with it. And since chicken is pretty much the only kind of meat I feel really confident about cooking and I had a couple of lemons, I googled "Lemon chicken".
Fortunately for me, Google produced this recipe from Ina Garten, which was enough to convince me that it was going to be awesome, and it did not disappoint. Though it has just a few ingredients and there is no marinating involved, this chicken has amazing flavor and moisture (as long as you don't over cook it). In addition, it's a bit flexible. Though the original recipe calls for three tablespoons of garlic, I thought that was too much and put only two. It also calls for dry white wine but I've been using a fruity even bubbly white wine here in Portugal called Vinho Verde and it's turned out spectacularly every time. Also, the recipe calls for dried oregano and fresh thyme and I just substitute that for a spice mix I have for meats. Herbs de provence would probably work perfectly here as well. Finally, the recipe calls for chicken breasts with the skin on and since I'm not a fan and it's easy to find boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I went with those instead.
Lemon Chicken Breast (adapted from Ina Garten)
Yield: 2.5 servings
Ingredients:
1/4 cup good olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/3 cup white wine
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (requires 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2) Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don't allow the garlic to turn brown.
3) Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish.
4) Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.
5) Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is fully cooked but not dry.
6) Serve hot with the pan juices.
