Meyer Lemon & Rosemary Infused Chicken

Still working through all the gorgeous Meyer lemons our friend Betsy sent us from her home in Healdsburg. This is an incredibly simple chicken dish that does most of the work on its own, as it cooks away for an hour on the stovetop. Ladled over noodles or rice, it is a comforting meal served to guests or enjoyed simply for a week-night meal.

I used skin on chicken thighs. Any cut of chicken will do, you just want to make sure to leave the skin on and that you use a pot large enough that it all fits atop the onion, lemon and rosemary mixture in one layer.

Here goes! Salt & pepper the chicken pieces liberally adding to a heavily olive oiled pot that you are going to cook the entire thing in. The pot you choose will need to have a tightly fitted lid. Cook chicken on medium high heat until the skin side is a browned, then flip and cook other side for a few minutes. You are not cooking the meat all the way through, as it will cook with everything else for an hour in a bit. Take chicken out, put on a plate and set aside.

Turn burner to medium low. In the same pot, now add a chopped up sweet onion or two, a Meyer lemon quartered and a few whole springs of rosemary. Toss all with the oil that was remaining to coat, adding a little more olive oil if needed. Then add back all the chicken, nestling it among the mixture. Be sure to add in any juices that accumulated on the plate the chicken was resting on. Turn the heat to low, put the cover on. Let cook for half an hour, checking it to see if it needs a splash of water or white wine at that point if needed. Most likely it won’t. Put lid back on and cook for another half hour. At the hour mark, check the chicken with a meat thermometer so it reads 165 degrees. Done! The Meyer lemon and rosemary will have done their magic. Discard. Ladle the onion mixture over your pasta or rice, then top with a piece of chicken.