RECIPE: Easy Roast Chicken Breast

After much struggle getting the computer all set up at Fresh Lunch (I am now best friends with the Dell representative as well as the Verizon customer service lady, I think I was invited to her baby shower), I looked at the clock and realized it was 6pm.  Jamie was coming over for dinner at 7pm.  That gave me....about 10 minutes at the grocery store.  In a frenzy (and NO LIST) I grabbed some lemons, a bulb of garlic, 3 bone in chicken breasts in a package, fresh asparagus and a bag spinach salad (something to hold us over while the chicken was cooking).  With my stomach growling I threw together roast chicken dish in minutes. Good thing we had some wine to distract Jamie.

PHOTO BY VIRGINIA LEE

Easy Roast Chicken Breast
Serves 2-3

3 bone in, skin on chicken breasts  (the skin and bones make for a juicy chicken)
1/2 bulb of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 lemon, sliced into wheels
1 onion, sliced
Couple of sprigs of thyme
Couple glugs of olive oil
Salt and cracked pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a roasting pan, or small baking dish (big enough to hold all of the breasts) spread onions, lemon wheels, thyme sprigs, and garlic down evenly to make a bed for the chicken.  Rub outside of chicken breast with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper.  Roast in oven 45-50 minutes, until juices run clear or thickest part of the breast reaches 165-170 degrees.  If you are scared of cooking chicken, seriously, invest in a meat thermometer.  Don't forget to calibrate them in ice cold water to calculate the temp difference.

Skin should be nice and crispy when you take it out.  Let rest 15 minutes or so. If you want to present (like the picture above), place the breast down on the a cutting board, slice down away from you and against the grain of the chicken (crosswise against the bone).  Drizzle some juices from the pan, and include some roasted garlic cloves on each plate.  I like to rub the roasted garlic all over the breast for more intense garlic flavor.  Served here in the picture with roasted asparagus (that I placed on the rack below the chicken with lemon and olive oil).

Note: If you have the time, marinate this up to a day, at a minimum an hour, ahead with some buttermilk, paprika, and salt.  When you're ready to roast, drain marinade and pat VERY dry.  Move forward with the rest of the recipe.  Marinating it in buttermilk before roasting or throwing it on the grill makes the chicken even more tender.