Lemon Rosemary Garlic Chicken…. How did this rosemary piece come about???
It all started about a year ago when my hubby’s job required us to we move. I had the pleasure of taking on the tasks of getting us “settled” into our new home and environment. Oh by the way, I was out of work due to the move, so I was a stay at home mom until I scored a job. But hey I wasn’t complaining, because I had a long bucket list of things to do while I wasn’t gainfully employed. And something I really wanted to accomplish was starting a garden…..
And I did! And I took pride in my tiny garden (even though I have had some people that saw it say “ooooohhhh that’s it???” while they pointed at my itty bitty garden.) Yep that’s all I have – my tiny 6 cu foot raised garden bed. The kiddo and I worked hard on that little thing. And did I mention that I’m proud of it????
Why such a small garden you might ask? Because I thought that starting small would be an act of service to those precious plants while I identify if my thumb is green or deadly and lethal.
Plus I started with simple plants as you can see. A lot of herbs were key stars of the show. And they grew! One herb that stayed the course no matter what I did to my garden (I’ll tell you about that later), was the rosemary. Rosemary is very versatile and can withstand just about any condition I believe. Because of this I have an unlimited supply of rosemary I get to use often and add to just about any recipe I can think of. Like this delicious lemon rosemary garlic chicken…..
This dish is easy to make as many other recipes on the site. I just pop a few ingredients into a blender to make a tangy rosemary marinade to create the ultimate chicken dish, just as I did with my Marinated Roasted Chicken in Wine Mushroom Cream Sauce with Kalamata Olives recipe. Then, I pour the marinade over the chicken and let the flavors do what they’re suppose to do. After that, I brown the chicken for a few minutes and then I throw it in the oven to bake. Not to mention this dish is full of fresh ingredients that will make you feel proud about making healthy food choices. Especially after eating that double cheeseburger the other day. And because the sauce is so good, I make enough sauce in this recipe to drizzle over the chicken after it has been cooked.
Ok, now run out to your garden, the nearest farmer’s market, or your neighbor’s garden (just kidding because that’s trespassing) and grab a few sprigs of rosemary to whip up this dish. And remember you don’t need the whole bottle of white wine for the marinade, so bottoms up!
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Lemon Rosemary Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken cut into six or eight pieces
- 2 cups of dry white wine
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 6 sprigs of rosemary
- 12 garlic cloves
- Juice of four lemons (Don’t throw away the squeezed lemons. Cut them in half to add to the marinade.)
- ½ of an onion roughly quartered
- Zest of one whole lemon
- Salt
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
- Place the wine, olive oil, rosemary leaves, garlic cloves, and lemon juice into a blender. Blend the ingredients for about 30 seconds to a minute until ingredients are blended into a smooth liquid or until the solid ingredients are roughly chopped (your preference, because it doesn’t matter).
- After this sauce is blended, divide the sauce in half. One half of the sauce will be used for marinade and the other half of the sauce will be used as a cooking source and drizzle after cooking.
- Place the chicken, lemon zest, juiced lemons, onions, and half of the sauce into a covered container. Place the chicken in the refrigerator. Let the chicken marinate for at least six to eight hours (I marinate my chicken overnight).
- Once you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven at 375 degrees.
- While the oven is preheating, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in an oven safe skillet on the stove top. Once the olive oil is hot, remove the chicken from the marinade (discard the marinade), and add the chicken to the pan (once I add the chicken to the pan I like to sprinkle a little more salt and pepper on the chicken).
- Brown the chicken on both sides using medium high heat (This will help sear the meat and lock in the juices to keep the chicken tender. With this high heat, make sure to turn the chicken frequently to prevent burning the chicken.)
- After the chicken has browned, remove the chicken from the pan and deglaze (this is removing all of the season from the bottom of the pan- don't want it to go to waste!) the pan with ¼ of the remaining sauce that was set aside. After deglazing the pan, add the chicken back to the pan. Place the chicken into the oven. Bake the chicken uncovered for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees.
- While the chicken is cooking, place the remaining sauce in a small saucepan. Cook the sauce for about 3 to 5 minutes.
- After the chicken has cooked, drizzle the chicken with the remaining cooked sauce or serve the sauce on the side as a dipping sauce for the chicken.
Notes
Please note that I am not a nutritionist, and the nutritional information is an estimate only. It varies based on the products and brands used.
Wonderful post Sharee! We haven’t tried rosemary and chicken in such way before and it sounds really good! Excellent photos (again)!
Btw besides rosemary, you should also try oregano and sage. Both are more resilient than basil or dill. Oh, and fennel is a “strong” herb as well. Good luck with your beautiful garden!
Panos and Mirella
Thanks so much! You know I have a recipe I found on another website that has fennel in it, and it was delicious! I will try to grow sage and see what I can put together outside of another chicken dish I have on here that has sage in it… I have oregano already in the garden and I will definitely see what I can do with it. Thanks for the awesome tips!