One-Pot Lemon Chicken

A one-pot wonder recipe that uses fresh, seasonal produce?

Let’s just say it ticks more than a few boxes for me.

Firstly, any recipe that creates less washing up is going to be a welcome addition to the repertoire and secondly, if it manages to also be delicious and gets gobbled up by the whole family – then it’s going to be a regular feature.

This one is a gem based on a recipe from Sophie Hansen, food writer, NSW farmer and the 2016 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) Rural Woman of the Year.

The original features in her cookbook, Local is Lovely, which has some cracking recipes and this one made for an ideal dinner on a chilly night.

It also helps that there are plenty of lemon trees bursting with bright yellow goodies around at the moment, although ours could do with a Sabrina Hahn pep-talk but I’ve been gladly taking the overflow from others.

One-Pot Lemon Chicken with Brown Rice

Ingredients

1 large free-range chicken (1.8-2kg)

½ cup fresh herbs such as thyme or oregano, chopped

1 leek, washed and sliced thinly

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 cups long grain brown rice (I used brown basmati)

A small pinch of saffron

75g butter, cubed

1 litre hot chicken stock

3 lemons

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180C.

Rinse chicken and pat dry, before rubbing the flesh with the herbs and salt and pepper.

Splash some olive oil in a ceramic casserole dish and place over a medium heat, adding the leek and garlic and stirring for a few minutes until the leek softens.

Add the rice and saffron, stirring to coat the rice with oil.

Push the rice to the sides of the pot and place the chicken in the middle.

Dot the rice with butter and pour the stock over the rice (not the chicken).

Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the rice and slice the other two lemons, placing on top of the rice.

Cover the pot with a lid and cook in the oven for 1 ½ hours.

Check towards the end to ensure rice isn’t too dry and if it looks dry, add a few splashes of hot water.

Remove the lid and return to the oven, increasing the oven temperature to 200C for a final 15 minutes or so until the chicken browns up.

Serve with some steamed veggies such as beans and broccoli, or a nice green salad.

Enjoy!