Lemon Thyme Chicken

I live in Silver Spring but work in Baltimore—and by the time I get home weekdays I am done. But I am also hungry and feel the need to be rewarded with a good dinner. To be at the ready I do my major grocery shopping on Saturday and cook all Sunday afternoon. Usually I fix one meat dish, like baked chicken or pork tenderloin, make a pot of soup and a casserole. When I stagger in the door Tuesday night, all I have to do is steam some green beans or warm up a baguette and dinner is served.

Lately I’ve been relying on a recipe for Lemon Thyme Chicken from the Barefoot Contessa. The dish generates a lot of savory juices which you can spoon over cous cous or rice. I have that Sunday night with asparagus for a proper sit down dinner, then use the leftovers later in the week for a salad made with butternut squash and olives, or granny smith apples and dried cranberries.

Adapted from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (2011)

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts with skin and bone still attached
(The original recipe asks for skinless, boneless and, I’d argue, flavorless chicken breasts. If you are going to eat meat, it’s best to acknowledge it’s origins upfront)

1/3 olive oil
9 cloves of garlic, minced
1/ 3 cup of dry white wine
1 tablespoon of finely grated lemon zest (The kick is well worth the effort!)
2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, plus a few sprigs for decoration
Salt and paper to taste
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Process:

Sauté the minced garlic in the olive oil for 1 minute at a high heat. Take off the burner immediately so the garlic does not brown. Add wine, lemon zest, lemon juice,
oregano and thyme along with 1 teaspoon of salt and a dash of pepper to taste. Pour into a 9" x 12" Pyrex dish.

Pat the check breasts dry, then salt and pepper them. Place the breasts skin side down into dish then flip them over so that the now-oiled skin side is up. Tuck lemon slices around the chicken and cover with aluminum foil

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil, then let chicken brown for another 10 minutes or so. If the chicken is done but is still pale, run under a broiler for 2 minutes. Let the dish rest for 10 minutes, then serve on a bed of cous cous, rice or orzo with fresh thyme. Be sure to generously spoon the pan juices over the grains to get the full, fattening pleasure of this dish.