Chicken Lemonato (Greek Chicken with a Lemon Sauce)

Chicken lemonato!

This dish of chicken in a lemon sauce, chicken lemonato is one of my kids’ most requested meals. It’s easy to rustle up despite looking like it’s made for dinner parties and nothing else. It isn’t, honest.

I’m vegan so wouldn’t eat this but as always, I like to share family dishes here. This is my Dad’s recipe.

Ingredients:

1.5 kg of organic/free range chicken ready to cook, cut into 8 pieces.
50g butter
2 tablespoons of virgin olive oil
125 ml water
juice of 3 medium lemons
zest of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, crushed (and a few whole, cooked for decoration if you like)
1 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tbsp finely chopped oregano (or dried if you prefer)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 white onions, peeled and finely chopped

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Over a medium heat, warm the butter and olive oil in a large, heavy based frying pan then place the chicken pieces in and leave for 4-5 minutes until they are golden brown.

Place the chicken in an oven proof dish. Mix the lemon juice and water with the crushed garlic, lemon zest and herbs and pour over the chicken. Season to taste. Bake the chicken, covered in the sauce for 45-50 minutes until tender, basting every 15 minutes.  When cooked, lightly pan fry the chopped onions and set aside. When cooked, place the chicken on a warm platter, pour the sauce over it, pour over the onions, and serve with rice and vegetables of your choice.