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Lemon rosemary chicken. Easy enough for a weeknight dinner but good enough for friends.
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5 from 4 votes

lemon rosemary chicken

Roasted lemon, rosemary, garlic and potatoes. Classic flavours come together in this skillet chicken dinner.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 chicken quartered, 8 chicken thighs or 4 chicken breasts
  • 1 lemon
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp minced parsley
  • 1 tsp minced rosemary plus one sprig
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 lb small new potatoes
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 2 Tbsp butter (optional)

Instructions

Broil the lemon

  • Cut off the ends of the lemon, then cut the lemon in half.
  • Broil the lemon for about 10 minutes, until beginning to char.
  • Squeeze the lemon through a strainer, pushing on the pulp. Reserve lemon juice.
  • Turn off the broiler and pre-heat your oven to 425F.

The prep

  • Boil the whole new potatoes in well salted water until just tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  • Reduce two cups of chicken stock by half. If you have some chicken concentrate this is a great place to use it to really boost the flavour. Add in a couple tablespoons worth.

Cook the chicken

  • In a skillet large enough to hold the chicken and potatoes heat olive oil over medium heat.
  • Rub the chicken with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper.
  • Saute the chicken, skin side down until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken.
  • Add the potatoes to the hot oil and saute, stirring to flip potatoes occasionally, about 5 minutes.
  • Remove potatoes from the skillet and pour off the oil.
  • Place the sprig of rosemary in the bottom of the skillet. Place chicken over top then sprinkle the potatoes around the chicken.
  • Roast the chicken in a 425F oven until the white meat reaches an internal temperature of 165F. You want 175F on dark meat. Legs tend to be smaller so they will probably reach 175F before the breasts reach 165F . Don't worry too much about it. The legs will be fine if you overshoot a bit.
  • Remove the chicken, potatoes and rosemary from the pan. Place pan over medium heat.
  • Add the garlic, parsley and rosemary and cook briefly, being careful not to burn the garlic.
  • Add the reserved lemon juice and reduce until you get close to a syrupy graze. Add the stock (and some concentrated chicken stock if you have it) and reduce slightly.
  • Return chicken and potatoes to the pan and place in the oven to heat through, about 3-5 minutes. If you want to put it over the top, swirl in a couple tablespoons of butter off heat to enrich.