These days I only eat roast chicken. Seriously. The best part of this dish is the lemon. It gave the chicken and veggies a nice tangy taste. I can barely think or type today because it’s so hot. It’s 28ºC (82ºF) but feels like 34º(93ºF). I wish you a lovely day. Mine is lethargic!!!!
Make 2-3 slits on each chicken piece and season with salt and pepper.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large heavy based skillet over medium high heat and brown chicken on both sides. (about 4 minutes on each side)
Transfer the browned chicken to the roasting pan.
Toss the potatoes and carrots (and bell pepper if using) with salt, freshly ground pepper, thyme and 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Transfer veggies to the roasting pan, placing the cut side down. Scatter the lemon slices on top and and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and flip drumsticks, potatoes, carrots and bell pepper, over. Return the roasting pan to the oven and bake another 15-20 minutes or until fully cooked..
Remove from the oven, add shredded cilantro and cover with aluminium foil while you make gravy.
Lemon Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 8-12 pieces chicken (drumsticks or thighs), washed, patted dry
- 2 large carrots (about 300g/12oz), sliced into thick slices
- 800g potatoes (small or large, washed, scrubbed or peeled, and cut)
- One large green bell pepper, julienned
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 lemon cut into thin slices
- ¼ cup shredded cilantro
For the gravy
- 1-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour mixed with ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup white wine
- Grated rind (zest) of 1 lemon
- Roasting juices from the pan.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). You will need a 10 x 15 inch roasting pan. Brush the roasting pan with oil. (I used a Rock Heritage 12 x 17 inch roasting pan). Make 2-3 slits on each chicken piece and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large heavy based skillet over medium high heat and brown chicken on both sides. (about 4 minutes on each side). Transfer to the roasting pan.
- Toss the potatoes and carrots (and bell pepper if using) with salt, freshly ground pepper, thyme and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a bowl. Transfer to the roasting pan, placing the cut side down. Scatter the lemon slices on top and and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and flip potatoes, carrots and bell pepper over and bake another 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from oven, add shredded cilantro and cover with aluminium foil to keep warm, while you make gravy.
- To make Gravy: skim off the oil from the roasting pan and transfer the juices to a small sauce pan. Add the water-flour mixture, white wine and lemon rind. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously and then simmer 5-10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Check seasoning. Serve in a gravy boat. (Franky speaking there was no gravy for me. My roasting pan was dry….)
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Oh this looks so delicious! I’ll probably wait for a rainy day to try this out, as I’m also a hot-temperatures-hater 🙂
I hope the rainy day comes, soon. Thanks for visiting my blog
Liz
LOVE Lemon Chicken and … the best part for me is the lemony flavor imparted in the potatoes. Strange spring we are having indeed … I I live just a few miles away from you (and I work in Guelph) so, I’m feeling your pain 🙂 Sooooo much rain 😦
Omg you work in Guelph? Cool! I totally agree with you regarding lemon flavour. Todays weather has been awesome. Have a lovely week!
liz
Hi Liz … sorry for the late reply. Yes, … I work at the big box store out on Elmira 🙂 and … I live in Campbellville 🙂
See you around neighbour 🙂
Thanks. I go to Elmira from time to time. Have a nice week!
Liz
Hi Liz. No, … you misunderstood me … I work in Guelph, out on Elmira road. 🙂
Oh yes. My mistake. Have a great week!
Liz
Interesting, I just took a chicken breast out of freezer to thaw. Might give this a try tonight. The morning clouds gather but I suspect they will burn off later, meantime it’s just cool! Im so envious of your temperature in your part of the world! Enjoy it Liz!
what do you mean envious? It’s way too hot. I can’t wait for the temperatures to go down slightly. I did some pruning in the early morning and I need to finish picking up the twigs I threw all over the place. It’s way too hot right now. Have a lovely day Sandy. I hope you enjoy your lean piece of chicken. I usually just stir-fry chicken breast, after marinating. Take care!
Liz
I so enjoy hot weather! We have not had any yet! Just grey skies and rain. It’s so depressing. Now and then we might get a sunny day but it will be cool and windy so we are drowning in cool, grey drizzle or rain! Sorry to whine! And, I did cook my chicken breast a la Liz! I did, at the end change it a bit because skinless breasts are dry and often tasteless so I dumped a tin of mushroom should overtop! Still have leftovers for tonight. Was very good! Hope it cools down for you this weekend. Hope it warms up for us! 😉
It’s so much cooler today. You know Guelph is usually so cold (colder than Toronto) but this year we’ve had warmer temperatures. I was out walking at 6.30am in a tee shirt. Nice cool breeze. I really enjoyed the walk and dreaded the fact that the weather always changes back to winter. Have a great weekend!
Liz