I have been craving
lemon, something lemony for the last couple of days. I’m not sure why, but lemon has seemed very
appealing to me. When I went to the grocery store a couple of days ago, I bought
chicken and a lemon with the intention of making myself some lemon chicken. I
didn’t have time right that moment so I froze the chicken legs in packets of 2.
Finally, on Monday I got a chance to experiment and make some lemon chicken—my style.
My Lemon Chicken |
Ingredients
4 chicken legs FROZEN
¼ cup flour + extra
for sauce
Basil
Red pepper flakes
1 lemon
¼ - ½ cup lemon juice
(ideally I would’ve used another lemon, but I only had one)
¼ onion diced finely
(almost minced)
1 garlic clove crushed
and diced finely
Olive Oil
Water
Preheat the oven to
350°.
Mix a ¼ cup flour with
a pinch of basil and red pepper flakes. Take your frozen chicken and rinse in
warm water to defrost slightly (let it sit in hot water for about 5 minutes if
the chicken is frozen together). Drizzle
the chicken with olive oil and rub over skin, then lightly dredge with the
flour mixture.
Heat a tablespoon or
so of oive oil in a medium saucepan over a low flame. When the oil is nice and
hot, add in your chicken. Watch your fingers when you do this, if the oil is
hot enough it may start to sizzle. Since
the chicken is frozen keep the flame low and allow the chicken to brown on each
side. Add olive oil if the pan gets too
hot or if the chicken starts to stick. Don’t let it burn.
The chicken will NOT
cook all the way through so don’t worry.
When each side has
begun to get nice and golden, remove from the heat.
Place the chicken into
a heat proof baking dish (Note: do not throw away the oil, you’ll need it for
the sauce) and put it into the oven.
Keen an eye on the chicken and turn in about 15 minutes. It should take about a half hour or more to
cook through since it was frozen through.
Place the previous pan
(with the same oil) over a low heat and once it is hot again, add in the onion
and garlic. Cook slowly and squeeze the fresh lemon into the pan carefully.
Before cutting the lemon in half, roll it on the table, the juice will squeeze
out more readily. Pour in a ¼ cup of water at a time as the mixture cooks down.
Stir continuously so the onion and garlic do not burn. Taste and add additional lemon juice if the
lemon taste is not strong enough.
Continue to stir and cook down.
Add dried basil, salt
and pepper to taste. Stir in a pinch of
flour at a time mixing constantly until the sauce has thickened sufficiently.
After 25 minutes
(after the chicken has already been turned once), cut into the thickest piece
to see if it has cooked all the way through. You can also use a meat
thermometer to see if the chicken has come to the correct temperature inside. I
cut into the chicken, the juices were still running a little pink so I turned
the chicken again and let it back for another 5 to 10 minutes.
The Perfect Plate |
This gave me enough
time to play with my lemon sauce. I added a little more water and flour since
the lemon flavor strengthens as the sauce cooks down. I didn’t want it to be TOO lemony.
When the chicken is
cooked through, serve it hot with a generous helping of the lemon sauce on top.
We had our chicken with a lovely light salad made with lettuce, tomato, onions and chick peas lightly doused
with a creamy balsamic vinegar reduction. Since the sauce was so tasty we used some wheat bread to sop it up. The meal would have been utter perfection with potatoes but sadly I didn't have any at home so next time, I'll have to make some delicious, creamy mashed potatoes to serve as a side.My light and perfect lemon chicken sandwich |
The next day with my left over chicken, I decided to make a sandwich. I went to the market and bought some beautiful, fresh bread and lots of crisp, fresh spinach. It made and absolutely stunning sandwich. In fact, I want another one, right now.
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