Monday, September 14

Lemon-Rosemary Roast Chicken with Braised Leeks

I was quite uninspired for dinner tonight. All I  knew was there was a defrosted package of chicken thighs and drumsticks in the fridge waiting for me when I got home, and had no idea what I was going to do with it. I stared inside the fridge. And stared. And stared. I realized that my fridge was full of odds and ends. Everything was either halfway done, or almost done. This bothers me. I hate buying and buying new stuff when I have a fridge full of scraps. Does this bother anyone else?

So, the moral of the story is that I ended up taking some of my odds and ends and put them in this chicken dish — an almost finished jar of dijon mustard, a spare leek that was left from the beef stew, rosemary that was about to go bad, and too many lemons that I bought from the market. The result was this delicious aromatic creamy herbal chicken with braised leeks. The meat was so soft and tender it fell off the bone. I cooked the leeks in the same roasting pan as the chicken so it had the juices and flavors from the chicken and just melted in your mouth. I have to say, this was quite the meal along with mom's roasted potatoes. It felt so good to air out the fridge a bit too!

Lemon Roast Chicken with Braised Leeks
1.5 lbs chicken thighs/legs
Salt 'n' peppa
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 tablespoon rosemary, minced
3/4 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 garlic clove, minced
1 leek, sliced

1 Preheat oven to 375. Pat dry chicken parts and season with salt and pepper. Arrange chicken on tray.
2 Slice leek lengthwise and wash well to remove dirt in between the layers. Slice into 1 inch pieces and break up over the chicken pan.
3 In a small bowl, whisk lemon juice, rosemary, dijon, honey and garlic together and pour over the chicken, turning the chicken and leeks with tongs to coat with the marinade.
4 Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown.

19 comments:

Foodie with Little Thyme! said...

Great picture. It looks so good that I can almost smell and taste that chicken.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Nice flavor combo, yummy!

Cheers,

Rosa

grace said...

this is what you create when you're uninspired? me, i create a bowl of cereal. :) nicely done, zoe.

Colleen said...

Mmm, what a great beginning-of-fall meal!

Soma said...

The rosemary mustard & garlic are calling my name. I love this combo of flavors, I do potatoes with the same things.

Chiara "Kika" Assi said...

Wow, what a clever way to get rid of odd bits and ends... I should do the same with my fridge.
I really like your blog, by the way, and your pictures are fantastic!

Annie said...

This is totally how I create great dishes too! It sounds wonderful. Love the leeks and lemons, yum!

Reeni said...

This looks so delicious from odds and ends in your fridge! Serious comfort food!

Nutmeg Nanny said...

I love leeks but oddly enough I do not use them a lot. I will have to give this recipe a try. I'm always looking for something delicious to do with chicken.

Half Baked said...

Looks great. I love braised chicken. I'll have to make this one soon!

Kerstin said...

Great job making dinner on the fly like that! When I'm feeling that way I usually warm up some soup -shhh...real food bloggers aren't supposed to do that, are they? :)Your chicken looks delicious!

ChichaJo said...

I know what you mean! I'm constantly thinking of ways to make use of the odd bits left in the fridge...the good part is that sometimes you end up with real winners like this chicken dish of yours! Sounds delicious!

Reginald said...

Wow!

This looks amazing and juicy.

And I love the flavor profile...

the sharpness from the lemon,

earthy flavor of the rosemary,

rounded off with the creamy

mustard and the sweetness of the

honey.

Well done!

Juliana said...

Your chicken looks delicious...love the ingredients in it :-) so flavorful...yummie!

nora@ffr said...

i just adore ye food photography!! stunning!!just beyond impressive :)

Sam@BingeNYC said...

This looks phenomenal. Lemon + Rosemary? Yes, please!

Chef Fresco said...

Nice use of leftover ingredients!

Kerry Maffeo said...

this looks unbelievably good!! I'm just introducing myself to leeks. I made ratatouille over the weekend for the first time with leeks. Very yummy. Much different texture/flavor than their onion cousins.

Unknown said...

This looks so good. I like it that you put honey in there, it must give it an extra something :D