Make This For Valentine's Day: Lemon and Lavender Chicken

Who doesn't dream of owning a cute little pied-à-terre in Paris, combing the markets for fresh French food and cooking it in a tiny European kitchen? Until that becomes a reality, we'll have to resort to watching Rachel Khoo's Little Paris Kitchen on the Cooking Channel. The show is everything the name implies; it follows a charming British cook as she creates glorious French cuisine in the tiniest of kitchens.

Recently, I watched an episode where Rachel makes a lavender roasted chicken, and the video stuck with me for weeks before I finally did some serious digging to retrieve the recipe. That is, until the publishers sent us her latest cookbook, which is as quaint and enticing as the cooking show.

When the sizzling, caramelized pieces of chicken come out of the oven, Rachel recommends taking a bit of crusty bread and dipping it into the pan juices to sample the flavors. My oh my, this chicken will make you fall in love with lavender, if you haven't already. It hits all the right sweet and savory notes, providing just enough floral flavor and herbaceousness to perk you up on a cold Winter night. The recipe is halved on purpose, because the lavender chicken has all the right potential for a dreamy date night like Valentine's Day.

Poulet au Citron et Lavande

Adapted from The Little Paris Kitchen: 120 Simple but Classic French Recipes by Rachel Khoo

Ingredients

1. 1 tablespoon dried lavender
   1 lemon, zest and juice
   2 sprigs of thyme, leaves pulled off stem
   2 tablespoons olive oil
   2 tablespoons honey
   2 pieces of bone-in, skin-on chicken, either breast or leg
   Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Crush lavender using either a mortar and pestle or a rolling pin. In a large bowl, combine crushed lavender, oil, honey, thyme, and lemon zest and juice. Mix well. Add chicken pieces and spoon marinade over chicken until well coated. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes (or up to 4 hours).
2. Preheat oven to 400°F. Put chicken and marinade into roasting pan. Sprinkle tops of chicken with salt. Roast chicken for 45 minutes, turning pieces over halfway. Cook chicken until it has an internal temperature of 165°F or when thickest part is pierced with a skewer, the juices run clear (not red or pink). Serve chicken with cooking juices poured over and around.

Information

Category

Poultry, Main Dishes

Cuisine

French

Yield

Serves 2