Lemon, Thyme and Garlic Chicken with Broccolini

 

This is one of my pressed-for-time recipes. The fragrance from the thyme combines with the lemon and garlic to produce a wonderful, punchy marinade that keeps the chicken moist and full of flavour. Deglazing the chicken with verjuice allows it to steam a little whilst cooking, leaving behind a lovely tang after it has evaporated. If you don't have verjuice, use half a cup of chicken stock instead.

Serves 4
- 8 chicken thigh fillets
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 1 tbs thyme leaves
- Grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup of verjuice
- Knob of butter
- 8 broccolini stalks, halved
- Sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

Combine the garlic, thyme, lemon and olive oil in a large, non-reactive dish. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the chicken to the dish and use your hands to massage in the marinade. If you have the time, leave to marinate for 30 minutes, at room temperature.

To cook the chicken, heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle in a dash of olive oil, then add the marinated thigh fillets. Turn the heat down to low-medium, cover with a lid (or thick sheet of foil) and cook for 3 minutes, or until you can see that the chicken is half-way cooked.

Flip the chicken over, deglaze the pan with the verjuice, cover again with a lid and cook for a further 2 minutes, or until the chicken juices run clear. Set the chicken aside on warm serving plates, to rest while you prepare the broccolini.

In the same pan that the chicken was cooked in, melt the butter and add the broccolini. Sauté for 2 minutes, season with salt and pepper and serve alongside the chicken. This also tastes great with mashed potato. In this instance, I served the chicken with some left over pumpkin pasta :)

 Lemon, Thyme and Garlic Chicken with Broccolini