Herbs always heighten the flavours of your dish. A simple touch of herbs can create magic on your plate giving best results on flavours. I personally like chicken breasts as to some level I get delirious while cutting through the flavours in this boneless low fat tender piece. Lemon and herb chicken recipe uses a delicious mélange of herbs and simple cooking technique. It has always been a challenge to cook a chicken breast to perfection. If proper care is not taken for this tender piece of white meat, it can easily turn to a piece of rubbery patch. Chicken breast has always been a favored white meat piece as a portion preferred in all fine dining restaurants.

Grilled Lemon and herb chicken is perfect for a low fuss lavish meal for any celebration. I decided to make it as part of a family meal for my daughter’s birthday. This light and low spice, full flavored boneless meat is just ideal for even kids to enjoy as part of the celebration. Nothing is fun to watch over your kids devour their meal without any fuss. The best part is the cooking of the piece on a grill making it even tastier and healthy.

Grilling is something I like apart from baking. You can use a charcoal grill or an electric grill. Here I grilled it up on top on an indoor electric grill which was lying aside packed in one of my cabinets, unused for almost a year. I thought it was the right time to take advantage of it for this special day for my daughter. The flavour of the grilled lemon onto the chicken adds on with the fresh crushed garlic and dried herbs, all making it so easy that you can marinate the chicken in the ingredients overnight and grill the meat the next day. If you feel you don’t have much time, simply leave the chicken in the marination out of your refrigerator for half an hour.

This is the adapted recipe of chef and culinary instructor Anne Burrell associated with Food network that I had come across in a food article which like all the other recipes, has been changed a bit like the addition of Worcestershire sauce and Oregano to the marination before grilling the meat. It is best to serve with a grilled lemon. You can serve with any creamy sauce or your choice of sauce with some buttered veggies and cheesy potato cakes. Even a rice pilaf and peas goes very well with this light chicken. The recipe serves four….

Ingredients:-

1. Chicken Breasts – 4 nos. (Boneless and skinless).
2. Juice of Lemon- 4 Lemons.
3. Zest of Lemon- 3 lemons
4. Garlic – 5 cloves.
5. Worcestershire Sauce- 2 Tablespoons.
6. Olive oil- 2 Table spoons.
7. Freeze dried Sage – 2 teaspoons.
8. Freeze dried Rosemary- 2 teaspoons
9. Oregano – 1 teaspoon.
10. Chilli flakes – 1 teaspoon (optional).
11. Vegetable oil – 3 tablespoons. (For basting).
12. Salt and pepper to taste.

Method:-

• Crush garlic and the herbs seperately with the help of a mortar and pestle. Zest and squeeze the lemons. Combine the lemon zest, herbs and garlic with lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil and keep aside in a bowl.
• Clean the chicken breasts and spread the herb mixture onto it. Massage the mixture to coat well. (You can also leave the whole squeezed lemon halves in the marinade). Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Brush and oil the grill well and preheat the grill to medium heat.
• Remove the refrigerated overnight marinated chicken from the marinade. Remove any excess marinade and transfer to the hot grill. Keep basting the chicken with oil every minute.
• Grill each side of the chicken for 5 minutes or till well done.  Cut lemon halves and grill them too alongside the chicken. Grill the lemons flesh side down till they are caramelized for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Serve hot the chicken breasts with the grilled lemon halves.

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