Lemon Chicken Recipes - Healthy Low Fat Chicken Recipes as part of a Healthy Die

Citrus adds sparkle to these easy lemon chicken recipes.

Lemon is a great partner to chicken, giving it a buzz of fragrance and flavour that lifts it out of the ordinary. Use a lemon marinade, or just some of the juice squeezed over, to improve the most basic of chicken dishes, like roasts and grills, or make lemon the central ingredient of a tangy sauce.

Add herbs as well, like fresh tarragon or fresh or dried thyme, to make any of these healthy chicken recipes more aromatic.

Citrus Grilled Chicken
Grilled chicken makes a swift and easy mid-week supper, and is one of the simplest of lemon chicken recipes. Marinading the meat in lemon juice tenderises the chicken, and gives it masses of extra flavour. You can leave the chicken in the marinade overnight if you get organised enough, but if not even 10-15 mins steeping in the lemony mixture will be enough to add that unmistakeable citrus aroma.

Serves 4: 8 chicken pieces, 2 lemons, 2 cloves garlic, crushed, 4 tbsp olive oil.

Put the chicken in a dish. Squeeze the lemons, mix juice with the garlic and oil to make a marinade. Toss chicken in the marinade, cover and refrigerate until needed. Preheat the grill to medium. Put the chicken into the grill pan and spoon over some marinade. Grill the chicken, placing it about 10-15cm (4-6 inches) beneath the heat, and turning once until the skin is crisp and juices run clear when the meat is tested with a knife point.

As a variation, you can use chicken breasts, skinned and cut into cubes before marinading. To cook, thread the cubes on skewers, alternating with cherry tomatoes, baby onions and bay leaves, and grill until the chicken is cooked right through, basting with marinade.

Tangy Lemon Chicken With Mushrooms

Citrus adds freshness to this easy chicken recipe which produces a light, zesty sauce. Perfect with noodles, or serve with grains such as bulgar wheat or cous-cous.

Serves 6: 6 chicken thighs, a little olive oil, 200g (1 cup) baby onions or 2 medium onions quartered,1 level tbsp plain flour200g (2 cups) mushrooms, sliced, 175ml (3/4 cup) chicken or vegetable stock, juice of 1 lemon.

Using a little oil in a non-stick frying pan, brown the chicken thighs. Remove from pan, add a little more oil and brown the onions. Return chicken to pan, sprinkle over the flour and stir around to coat.Add sliced mushrooms. Pour on the lemon juice and hot stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Cover and cook gently for 30 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Roast Chicken With Lemony Gravy

Cheer up an everyday roast chicken with a zesty citrus gravy. I like this served with grains like quinoa, rice or cous cous, so that the sauce soaks in, but you can partner it with potatoes if you prefer.

Serves 4-6: 1 chicken weighing 1.75 ? 2.25 kg (4-5 lb), 2 lemons, 2 tbsp olive oil, 50g (1/4 cup) butter, 1 tbsp flour, 150ml (1/2 cup) chicken stock

Preheat oven to 350F/180C/gas 4. Cut one of the lemons into four pieces and place inside the chicken carcass. Squeeze the other lemon. Mix half the juice with the olive oil and rub into the chicken skin.

Place in a roasting tin, and cook for 75-90 minutes, basting from time to time, until the skin is browned and the juices run clear when tested with a knife point.

To make the gravy, melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook for a couple of minutes, then gradually stir in the chicken stock and remaining lemon juice, stirring well to incorporate the liquid into the flour mixture to make a smooth sauce. Bring to the boil, stirring, and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Carve the chicken and serve with the lemony gravy.

Tabbouleh with chicken: Add cubes of cold cooked chicken to a salad of cooked bulgar wheat, spring onions (scallions) and diced cucumber, dressed with an oil and lemon juice mix.

Chicken and potato lemon-dressed salad: Add lemon juice to home made pesto and use to dress a salad of cooked new potatoes and cubed chicken. Serve on a bed of leaves.

Lemon chicken risotto: Add lemon juice to stock and use to cook risotto rice, which absorbs all the flavours. Add finely diced mushrooms while the rice is cooking, and diced cooked chicken. Stir, and keep cooking over a low heat until all is thoroughly heated through.

For more exciting ways to cook chicken, see Healthy Chicken Recipes.

Click here to go back to the top of Lemon Chicken Recipes.

Good Food Matters

Go from Lemon Chicken Recipes to Easy Healthy Recipes.

Go from Lemon Chicken Recipes to Healthy Eating Made Easy.

? 2005-2010 healthy-eating-made-easy. All Rights Reserved

View the original article here