Oven baked lemon chicken with herbs

With our weather being somewhat cooler and the rain pouring down constantly, our bones are in need of some warmer nourishment. The grey skies whispered lemon chicken. So we had the old classic, lemon chicken with herbs. An ever popular meal, so easily done in the oven and sliced at the table, which leaves you with ample time to indulge in that book you just glance at every time you speed past it.

Oven baked lemon chicken with herbs

Do I need to give the recipe?

  • Take a chicken, clean it. Flee into your garden and cut herbs to heart’s delight…tarragon is a must. Lemon cut into chunks is a must. As is some butter, salt and pepper and two or three shallots. Then just stuff the chicken with all ingredients, rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  • Bake in a 180 deg. C oven for about an hour or until you have clear juices running when piercing the chicken into the thick flesh of the thigh next to the bone, normally the part which takes the longest to cook. Turn the chicken over and drizzle often with the pan juices.
  • In the meantime prepare some vegetables. I used green asparagus, of which I snapped the ends off and some cherry tomatoes. Clean and dry them.
  • When the chicken is done, remove from the pan and cover with foil on a serving platter. Skim off the excess fat from the pan.
  • Arrange the asparagus in the pan and roast at 200 deg. c until nicely caramelized. Add the tomatoes 10 minutes before the asparagus is done and roast until the tomatoes start shrinking.
  • Serve on the platter alongside the chicken, drizzle with the pan juices and serve the rest of the sauce on the side.

*for more about herbs and it’s uses, see “In my herb garden”

…the more you pick, the better I grow…

This is an entry for WHB, whith this week’s host being Wandering chopsticks.

Monday night’s dinner

On Mondays dinner is simple. It depends on what the fridge and vegetable basket deliver. Tonight will see a tomato salad and turkey breast on the menu. And since it is Monday, we’ll pass on the glass of wine and start off with a glass of Perrier and of course…an apron.

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Turkey breast filet with warm tomato salad

  • 4 turkey breasts filets
  • a variety of tomatoes
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
  • a lemon, sliced
  • a handful of basil leaves
  • a green chili of your choice
  • 2 spring onions, shredded on the diagonal
  • tomato vinegar/sherry vinegar
    1. Sautee the turkey breasts along with the lemon slices in some olive oil until nice browned. Season with salt and pepper.
    2. Cut the tomatoes in chunks, leaving the smaller ones whole and leaving some cherry tomatoes on the vine.
    3. Shred the spring onion on the diagonal.
    4. Sautee the smaller tomatoes, the cherry tomatoes on the vine and the spring onions in some olive oil until warmed through and the tomatoes begin to burst. Keep the cherry tomatoes on the vine aside for decoration.
    5. In a bowl, lightly mix the tomato chunks, the tomato- and onion mixture, the basil leaves and the chopped chili. Season with salt and pepper.
    6. Deglaze the tomato pan with the vinegar.
    7. To plate: Serve the turkey breast on a serving of salad. Top with a slice of caramelized lemon and the cherry tomato on the vine.Drizzle with the pan juices, a sprinkling of freshly milled pepper and to finish off, a last drizzling of olive oil.
    8. Serve immediately
    9. Serves 4

To finish off our meal, we’ll indulge in a handful of fresh cherries.

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Commentaires

MMmm

Everything looks and sounds great – I’m absolutely going to make this meal one day this week.

Posté par Casey, 19-06-2007 à 20:54

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–>Ronell! How in the world did I miss this fabulous cooking blog of yours!! Ohmygoodness, one of my passions is cooking and I will be a frequent visitor here.

Posté par Brenda, 20-06-2007 à 20:59

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–>Thanks for the comments…happy you that you like it.
ronell