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Syrian Lemon Chicken Fricassee

  • Author: Amelia Saltsman

Ingredients

Scale
  • Your Pack of Chicken Thighs
  • Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 onion, chopped,
  • 1 cup sliced carrots
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from 23 lemons)
  • 1/2 pound meaty sauce tomatoes, such as Roma, peeled and diced (or 1 can sauce)
  • 1 cup water or chicken stock
  • 1 small potato, peeled and grated, if needed
  • Basic white rice, quinoa, or other grain for serving

Instructions

  1. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. In a wide pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding, add the chicken pieces and brown, turning as needed, until golden brown on all sides, 10-12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
  2. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pot, reduce the heat to medium, and add the onion, carrots, celery, and about 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir well, scraping the pan bottom to loosen the brown bits, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and soft and the carrots and celery are bright in color and beginning to get tender, 7-10 minutes. Add the garlic and 1 tablespoon of the chopped mint and stir. Cook 1 minute more, being careful not to let the garlic brown. Remove from the heat.
  3. Using a microplane grater, and working over the pot, grate the zest from 2 of the lemons, capturing both the zest and the spray of citrus oils in the pot. Juice enough lemons to yield 1/3 cup juice. Add half of the lemon juice to the pot, along with the tomatoes and stock or water, and return to medium heat. Cook until liquid is reduced by one third, about 5 minutes. Return the chicken to the pot and spoon some of the liquid over it. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, basting the chicken occasionally with the liquid, until the chicken is very tender, about 45 minutes.
  4. The chicken should always be half submerged in the sauce as it cooks. Sauce develops as the dish cooks, so you may not need additional liquid, but add a little water or stock if needed.
  5. Uncover the pot during the last 10 minutes of cooking to thicken the liquid. At this point, taste the sauce. It should be very lemony. Add more lemon juice as needed, along with the remaining 3 mint. If the sauce seems too thin, add the potato and cook until the potato dissolves and the sauce is thick, about 10 minutes. This dish can be made a day ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat on the stove top or in an uncovered pan in a 425 F oven. Add the last bit of mint after reheating.
  6. Serve the hamut in shallow bowls with Rice or another grain.

Notes

  • Not Included in Large Kitchen Box: Chicken Stock

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2