Easy Lemon Chicken - Barefoot Contessa Recipe

Ina Garten - you've gotta love her!  I had a go at making her Lemon Chicken the other day and it was delicious.  A lovely lemony garlic sauce that surrounds the chicken and then baked in the oven.  So very easy to do and is made in no time at all.

As a first for me, I didn't titivate this recipe apart from making the same amount of sauce to serve two people using two chicken fillets. I'd do the same again as the I found the amount of sauce was just right for two.  Oh and fear not about the 9 cloves of garlic - just do it!

Print Recipe

To Serve 4 you will need:

    1/4 cup good olive oil

    3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves)

    1/3 cup dry white wine

    1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

    2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

    1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

    1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

    sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

    4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on

    1 lemon

How to do it:

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F or Gas 6

Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don't allow the garlic to turn brown.

Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish.

Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper.  Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.

Be impressed - I jointed a chicken all by myself as I couldn't get fillets with the skin on anywhere when I wanted them!

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned. If the chicken isn't browned enough, put it under the grill for 2 minutes.

Cover the pan tightly with kitchen foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices.

I served mine with some Basmati rice with spinach stirred through - just drain your rice when it's cooked and stir through some lovely spinach to wilt.