ONE POT BAKED LEMON CHICKEN AND RICE
Ingredients:
12-16 boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 x juiced lemons plus extra for garnish
4 x cloves smashed garlic (or 1 tbsp garlic powder)
2 x tbsp oregano
1 x tbsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
4 x cups chicken stock
2 x cup white rice (I like jasmine or basmati - don’t use brown rice / requires double cooking time and will dry out chicken)
Garnish - parsley/ lemon slices
Directions
Preheat oven to 350F
Marinade chicken at least one hour in juice of lemon (toss rind in), smashed garlic cloves, oregano, olive oil and salt. While that is marinating soak rice in water to soften and then strain and rinse.
Remove chicken from marinade (don’t toss!) and In a pan over medium high heat, drizzle a bit of olive oil and sear chicken 2-3 mins a side until it gets browned (I do this in batches / don’t overcrowd pan).
In a large baking dish, place rice, 4 cups stock and place your chicken nice and snug in pan. Strain the marinade and pour in. Cover and bake for 45 mins.
Garnish with lemon slices (I pan fry to get them a bit brown) and parsley.
*you can prep everything until baking step 24 hrs before / this serves 6+ (and usually some leftovers) - you can cut recipe in half if you are feeding a smaller group (6 chicken thighs)
