nicholeV photography - Tuscan Lemon Garlic Chicken

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Thursday, January 13, 2011 12:02:36 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )

Alright, though I should be posting one of the fabulous weddings I’ve shot over the last few months, I’m instead still fixated on recipes (I did mention that I love to cook, right?!). So stay with me, haha!

As many of you know, I lived for a year and a half in Italy with most of my time being spent in and around Florence. This is a dish I had a LOT while I was there. It’s incredibly typical of Tuscan cooking and northern Italian cuisine in general. And it’s about my favorite way to cook chicken. I’ve presented two ways to cook this recipe below, but there are endless variations of it. You can easily substitute any other kind of citrus for the lemon. Oranges also make a delicious chicken too. Italians would typically serve this meal with oven-baked diced potatoes and a spring mix salad with balsamic dressing.

Quick Dinner Option 1

3 large chicken breasts (about 8 oz each), sliced in half to make a total of 6 thinner chicken breasts that are about 4 oz each
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 T. dried rosemary or 2 T. fresh
1 t. dried sage or 1 T. fresh
1 large lemon
1 T. olive oil

Gently heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic. Fry for less than a minute, until the garlic is fragrant but not brown. Add the rosemary and sage and fry for another minute until fragrant. Add your chicken breasts and cook on both sides until browned and cooked. Zest and juice the lemon. When the chicken is done, pour the lemon juice over the chicken and toss in the lemon zest. Remove the chicken immediately from the pan and use the lemon juice to deglaze the pan and bring up all the browned bit on the bottom (if you can). Pour the lemon juice back over the chicken and serve. Each 4 oz chicken breast will have around 140-150 calories.

Plan Ahead Dinner Option 2

1 whole chicken
5 cloves garlic
2 T. dried rosemary
2 t. dried sage
2 large lemons
1 T. olive oil

Zest your lemons and toss the lemon zest, garlic, rosemary, sage and olive oil into a blender or food processor. Process into a paste. Rub the mixture all over and inside of the whole chicken. I actually try to get it in between the skin and the meat of the chicken. Place the chicken onto a rack in a roasting pan and roast at 325 until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 170 (or so) in the thigh. This usually takes at least 2 hours. Once the chicken is done, remove from the oven and pour the juice from both lemons over the chicken. Cut and serve immediately. For a tasty (though not low-cal) treat, use the drippings in the roasting pan as a dipping sauce for bread and the chicken.

Here is a photo of the chicken breast preparation with winter squash and peas. It's a yummy meal with around 250 calories. It's really hard for me to feel like I'm "dieting" when I eat food like this, haha.

Comments [2] | |

Thursday, January 13, 2011 12:08:32 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)

Nichole, you are the awesomest! And I totally agree with you about being fixated on food...it's an addiction! Hugs and love to you!

Karen

Wednesday, January 19, 2011 9:49:37 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)

Yummy!!!

Esther Cossío

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About Nichole

Nichole Van has repeatedly been labeled as a hot, new, up and coming photographer. As a Utah wedding photographer and a Utah portrait photographer, she specializes in turning everyday life into art. Nichole loves expressing the unique beauty of every client, creating artistic images that make people gasp when they see them.

As an international award-winning photographer, Nichole won the prestigious International 8x10 Portrait of the Year from Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) for 2007. Consequently, her international award winning photography was featured in Rangefinder Magazine in June 2008. She has also taken First, Second and Third place honors from WPPI in other international competitions for her child and family photography. Additionally, Nichole has received numerous Accolades of Excellence and currently holds an Accolade of Photographic Mastery from WPPI.

In addition to her love for photography, Nichole loves teaching and enjoyed being English faculty at Brigham Young University for nearly 10 years. As the best of both worlds, teaching photography to others is her passion. Nichole currently offers international photography workshops focusing on helping others enhance creativity and artistry in their photos. Combining her excellence in teaching with her photographic knowledge, Nichole’s Life as Art Workshops are quickly revamping industry standards for photographic workshops.

Nichole lives in southern Utah County with her husband and three children. You can see her work at www.nicholeV.com.