Fresh lemon brings out the flavor in your chicken dishes.
Lemon chicken has several variations, but all show off the citrus tang of lemon. The Asian version encases white chicken meat in a batter. The pieces are deep-fried and napped with a clear, intensely flavored lemon sauce. The Italian version, pollo alla pasesana, infuses chicken with lemon flavor and herbs. And then there's the Greek version with chicken stuffed with lemons, rosemary and olives.
Entree
Roasted lemon chicken is lower in fat than Asian fried lemon chicken. It's not a difficult recipe, but some people do find it squeamish. Begin by separating the skin from the flesh of a chicken or chicken pieces with your fingers. Don't remove the skin. It keeps the chicken moist while it roasts. Slide thin lemon slices under the skin. Push chopped herbs with, or without, minced garlic between the lemon slices. Roast for an hour. Serve with new potatoes in lemon butter and asparagus dressed with lemon thyme and a squeeze of lemon.
Salad
Deep-fried lemon chicken sliced over a crisp green salad makes a cool light lunch. Add snow peas, scallions, water chestnuts. Dress with rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, minced ginger and garlic. Another salad option would be chunks of roasted lemon chicken in mayonnaise with grapes and apple chunks. Zip up the mayonnaise by adding lemon juice and zest. Serve on a bed of butter lettuce and lunch is served.
Wraps and Sandwiches
Turn a wrap into an exploration of different cuisines with lemon chicken. Serve slices of Asian lemon chicken in a flour tortilla brushed with hoisin sauce. Add in sliced scallions and fresh cilantro. For a Mediterranean-style variation, mix feta cheese with olive and lemon juice. Drizzle some inside a pita pocket. Brush the rest over roasted lemon chicken slices, and stuff the slices into the pita pocket. For an Italian-inspired sandwich, slice a loaf of crusty Italian bread lengthwise. Remove some of the soft interior to make room for the filling. Mix lemon juice with olive oil and a finely chopped garlic clove. Drizzle both halves of the bread loaf with the mixture. Layer basil leaves, tomatoes, chopped olives, mozzarella cheese and slices of lemon chicken on the bread.
Soup
You might not think that lemon would be a tempting flavor choice for soup, but you'd be surprised. Asian hot and sour soup depends on the sourness of cilantro and lemon. Use leftover bits and pieces of lemon chicken in a broth flavored with more lemon juice and spiced with red pepper flakes. Add vegetables that don't require much cooking such as carrots, peas, bean sprouts and mushrooms. Serve over noodles for a filling meal.
Greek lemon soup, avgolemono, is enhanced by the addition of lemon chicken. The additional protein from the chicken makes it a meal. Serve with pita bread and a Greek salad of olives, cucumbers, tomatoes green peppers and a feta cheese dressing.
Tags: lemon chicken, lemon juice, with lemon, feta cheese, lemon chicken, lemon slices