Lemon Chicken Tray Bake

I couldn’t wait to post this dinner and recipe. Have you ever had a very good experience with a recipe that is just so good, and so easy, that you can’t wait to share? This is the one for me.

I came across it in a roundabout way whilst looking at Twitter. My friend Jo, Welsh cook extraordinaire, spoke about her version which led me to the original poster. Surf over to The Pie Patch and meet Lucy. She is a participant at this cool website with lots of great meal planning tips and recipes too.

(Here is is just out of the oven, obviously we are checking temperature for doneness)



This photo doesn't do it justice. See the crispy skin sliding off the chicken thigh? The vegetables were tender, moist and had just the right hint of lemon.



My version of Lemon Chicken Tray Bake
The link to the original recipe posting is HERE

Ingredients

8 large chicken thighs (you can use any pieces, we like thighs)
2 lemons
1 large vidalia onion
1 butternut squash
6 red creamer potatoes
2 carrots
1 parsnip (because there is was, all alone in the fridge)
Minced garlic
Black pepper
Sea Salt
Dried thyme
Olive oil

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. (375 F)
I cut the butternut squash into chunks, didn’t peel it. Cut up the onions, quarter the potatoes, cut the carrots and parsnip into 1 inch chunks. Quarter the lemons.

*You could use any variety of veggies you want. Next time I may toss in sweet potato and more carrots.

Cut excess fat off the chicken pieces. Now place everything together (yes, the vegetables, chicken and lemons) in a large shallow roasting pan. Sprinkle the minced garlic over the lot and then then salt and pepper and thyme.

Drizzle olive oil over it all. If you can mix it with a spoon then go for it. I found that using the spoon helped to get everything covered in oil but using your fingers to smoosh it around was better.

The lemons will ooze out that juicy lemony goodness and give a sticky sauce that blends into the meat and veggies.

Here it is all tossed together. Ready to be popped in the oven.



So…isn’t the Internet a wonderful thing? I mean, for us Attention Deficit afflicted folks you can get lost with the Oh, shiny and clicking off here and there: forgetting your original intent when you logged on to the www. But here I am in soggy old North Florida preparing a wonderful meal that a young Scottish mother posted over a week ago. An ocean between us but we like the same foods.

Thanks to Lucy and Jo. Make this one, my friends, you won’t regret it.

For what it's worth, this Village Bordeaux went very well with the meal :-)