Pan-roasted lemon chicken

Tamara West

For step-by-step instructions, see our How to cut a chicken into pieces article.

Ingredients

½	Chicken, sliced in half by cutting down the backbone (Main)
1 serving	Cooking oil, to fry
2	Onions, or shallots per person, peeled
1	Garlic head
1	Lemon, use more to taste (Main)

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 200C
2. Cut the chicken in half down the backbone, and return 1 half to the fridge for other uses.
3. Heat an ovenproof frying pan until hot. Add some oil, then fry the chicken skin side down until browned. Season with salt, turn skin-side up and season again.
4. Add the onions and garlic and squeeze the lemon juice over the skin.
5. Cover with a lid or foil and place into the oven and cook for about 30 minutes until cooked through. You can check if the chicken is done by pulling gently on the drumstick to see if the thigh comes away from the rest of the chicken. Divide the chicken between 2-3 serving plates along with the onions and garlic.
6. To the juices left in the pan add a splash of wine or cream and stir this around. Pour sauce over chicken and serve with greens and potatoes.

Tip

It is important to heat your plates before you serve this meal. Plates can go in the oven, which is already hot, for 3 minutes or heat them in a sink of hot water. The advantage of heating the plates is that your meal will be served hotter and as a consequence, you will eat it slower because you are not under pressure to finish if off before it gets cold. Think about it!