Pan-Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chicken
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Breaded, pan-fried chicken is always a sure bet when you’re looking for a quick meal that’s tasty and easy to prepare. It’s always nice to punch it up a little, though, in a way that will yield more flavor but without too much more effort.
This chicken does just that. It has a nice tang from the lemon and great flavor from the romano and rosemary. Plus, it gets double the garlic flavor by pan-roasting garlic cloves. Once cooked, the garlic goes into the dipping mixture and then the garlic-infused oil is used to cook the chicken. The garlic flavor isn’t too pungent, though, because pan-roasting it makes it much more sweet and mellow.
This dish is juicy and flavorful, and really easy to make. It’s a great weeknight meal, especially since the garlic is pan-roasted rather than oven-roasted, which takes far less time. We had this with some braised lentils with vegetables, but the side dish possibilities are endless. This would be great on top of a crisp salad with a lemon vinaigrette, especially in the summer!
Pan-Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chicken
Serves 2
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 fat cloves garlic, peeled and slightly smashed
1 lemon, halved
1 egg
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp. romano or parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. chopped rosemary
2 chicken breast halves, pounded to about 1/3 – 1/2″ thickness
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and soft, about 7 minutes. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon, and keep the oil in the pan.
Zest half the lemon into a dish or bowl, and to it add the breadcrumbs, cheese, rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste.
Crush the browned garlic cloves and whisk in a separate shallow bowl/dish along with the egg and juice from half the lemon.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture, and then dredge into the breadcrumb mixture.
Heat the garlic oil over medium heat and once hot, add the chicken. Cook until done, about 2.5 minutes per side. Serve with slices or wedges of the remaining half lemon.
This is fabulous Elly. It reminds me of my Italian favourite:D
You are the queen of pancooked chicken, I swear. This looks great!
Would love your panroasted lentil recipe please.
Hi Lin – I make them very similarly to the recipe I’ve posted here, although now I just do it all in one pot so after I saute the veg and add the broth (about a 2:1 or 2.5:1 ratio of broth to lentils), I braise the lentils in that pot for about 25 minutes until they are tender.
Looks fantastic!
This is such a beautiful dish and sounds delicious. Thanks for reposting the link to the lentils – they sounds yummy, too. I love lentils but for some reason have never cooked them myself so I’m looking forward to trying them and this chicken!
I love the lentils. Looks great , Elly
This look great and what a beautiful presentation!
The chicken looks fabulous! I’m also totally excited about the lentil recipe since the hubster wants to eat more protein but refuses to eat lentils. These look so good, even he may be a fan 🙂
I made this last night and it was perfect for a hot summer night. The lemon flavor was so yummy!
So glad you enjoyed it, Claudia!
Sounds great – especially the cooked garlic added to the coating.
Making this tonight!
It was great! I used your lentil recipe too!
Just made this (and blogged it). We LOVED it. Thank you!!
Elly, we made this last night and absolutely loved it! The chicken was so delicious, and I loved the extra garlic flavor. Thanks so much for the fantastic recipe! 🙂