The Perfect Easy Lemon Chicken
I love that this recipe doesn’t require many ingredients yet it still yields amazingly flavorful end results, and it all thanks to that bright lemon and creamy butter. With this recipe you get perfectly tender, golden brown pan seared chicken breasts that are coated in that quick lemon pan sauce.
Roast chicken isn’t just for Sunday dinners any more thanks to this easy recipe from The Barefoot Contessa. Using a cast-iron pan, nestle an herb-marinated, butterflied chicken on a bed of lemon slices, onion and garlic and roast at a high temperature. In just under an hour, you’ll have perfectly tender chicken with golden, crispy skin. With a little help from Ina Garten, you’ll be channelling your inner chef in no time at all!
Ina Garten’s Skillet-Roasted Lemon Chicken
Total Time:
1 hour 25 minutes (includes resting time)
Serves:
3
Ingredients:
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp whole fennel seeds
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup good olive oil
1 lemon, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 yellow onion, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 (4-lb) chicken, backbone removed and butterflied
Juice of 1 lemon
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
2. Place the thyme, fennel seeds, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a mini food processor and process until ground. Pour the olive oil into a small glass measuring cup, stir in the herb mixture, and set aside.
3. Distribute the lemon slices in a 12-inch cast iron skillet and distribute the onion and garlic on top. Place the chicken, skin side down, on top of the onion and brush with about half the oil and herb mixture. Turn the chicken skin side up, pat it dry with paper towels (very important!), and brush it all over with the rest of the oil and herb mixture.
4. Roast the chicken for 30 minutes. roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 155 to 160°F.
5. Remove the chicken from the oven, sprinkle it with the lemon juice, cover the skillet tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Cut the chicken in quarters or eighths, sprinkle with salt, and serve hot with the pan juices, cooked lemon, and onion.
What to serve with Lemon Chicken?
One of my go-to side dishes for chicken like so is steamed or roasted asparagus or broccoli, then I also like to serve it with orzo. Cauliflower rice would also be a good healthier alternative to the orzo. I love how that bit of extra sauce goes with the orzo, perfect match. Plus orzo is so lazy and easy.