Ingredients
6 each chicken breasts without skin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 each lemons -- halved
2 heads garlic -- broken into cloves
1 bunch fresh thyme sprigs
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup water
Directions
- Heat oven to 375. Have ready a 4-qt casserole or Dutch oven, preferably
oval
- Rub chicken pieces with 1/8 tsp each salt and pepper. Add juice
of 1 lemon, the squeezed lemon halves, 6 cloves of garlic and half
the thyme. Tie legs together with the string.
- Place chicken in casserole. Brush each piece with the olive oil
and squeeze juice from the remaining 2 lemons over top of the chicken,
then sprinkle chicken with 1/8 tsp salt and remaining 1/8 tsp pepper.
- Cover and roast 1 hour. Increase oven temperature to 450, add the
water and bake uncovered 30 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a board or
platter; cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
- Carefully pour contents of casserole through a strainer into a
small saucepan, pressing on solids with back of a spoon. Discard solids
left in strainer. Let juices in saucepan settle, skim fat off surface
then season pan juices with remining 1/4 tsp salt. Stir over medium
heat until hot.
Serve chicken with pan juices.
|