Chicken with Capers and Roasted Lemon

If you have been reading this blog for a while now, you know that just about everything I have learned about cooking good food I learned from my mama.  Her legendary scones and delectable marinated mozzarella are just two of the recipes I’ve shared here over the years, but she also has an uncanny knack for taking something as ordinary as chicken and a few lemons and turning it into a melt in your mouth plate of tender, tangy wonderfulness that has me (once again) asking for the recipe.

This is a simple braised chicken recipe that starts on the stove and finishes in the oven, making it so much more tender and juicy.  I have no idea why, unless it is mama magic.

Once the chicken is done, you simmer up the white wine/chicken broth/caper sauce it had been cooking in until it is reduced a little bit, and you drizzle it over your tender chicken pieces and scatter on a little fresh thyme.  And a few of these which I made earlier in the day.  Take a lemon, slice it up, put the slices on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and brush them with some olive oil.

Now roast them for about a half an hour until they look like this…

Well, all except for that poor guy in the lower right.  Let them cool while the rest of your chicken wonderfulness is cooking, and then scatter them over the top.  They give it a hint of lemony tang, and they LOOK amazing.

So for the millionth time, thanks to my mama, whose kitchen is a gift that keeps on giving.

Chicken with Capers and Roasted Lemon

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• Yield: 8 servings 1x

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Ingredients

For the Roasted Lemons

• 1 lemon, sliced thinly
• Olive oil
• Salt

For the Chicken

• 6 large boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness and cut in half
• 1/2 cup flour, seasoned lightly with salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 large cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 1/2 cups white wine
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, plus extra for garnish
• 2–3 tablespoons capers (use the full amount if you like things extra tangy!

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Place lemon slices on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
2. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Roast for 30 minutes or until starting to char at the edges. Set aside.
3. Dredge the chicken pieces in seasoned flour.
4. Heat the butter and oil in a large, deep oven-safe skillet over medium high heat. Cook chicken in batches until lightly golden on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side (it will finish cooking in the oven.) Remove to a plate.
5. Add garlic to the pan and stir for a minute or two until starting to soften. Add wine, broth, thyme and capers and bring to a simmer.
6. Return chicken to pan (you can put all of it in the pan – it doesn’t need to be in a single layer), put the lid on the pan and put it in the 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.
7. Remove chicken from pan and boil the sauce until it is slightly reduced.
8. Place chicken on platter or plates, pour sauce on top and scatter on a little chopped fresh thyme and those gorgeous roasted lemons. Serve at once.

Kate Morgan Jackson

Hi there!  I’m Kate, and I’m a recipe writer, food photographer and devoted bacon lover.  I started Framed Cooks in 2009, and along the way my recipes have also been featured in places including Huff Post, the Today Show, BuzzFeed and Glamour.  My mission is to create and share family-friendly recipes that make cooking both easy and fun…yes, I said FUN!  My kitchen is my happy place, and I want yours to be that place too.  Let’s cook together!

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