‘Blast from the Past Recipe’

Lemon and Chilli Chicken (Serves 4)

In a few weeks, the road on which I live will be having a ‘Jubilee Street Party’. Each household will be bringing along their own food; I have been contemplating what I should cook, I want a dish which is pretty much hands free – this recipe has made my shortlist…

 I first posted it in July 2020, it is a recipe that I came across years ago in a magazine. Despite having chilli in it, it is not a spicy dish, as there is also honey in the marinade; I use orange blossom honey as it has a delicate floral flavour, great for a summer dish, but you could use any runny honey. The key to this dish is remembering to marinate it 24hours beforehand as it really makes a difference, other than that this dish sorts itself out  – just pop it in the oven and serve with a large salad (and if you are really hungry some potatoes or rice).

8 chicken thighs

4 lemons

12 unskinned garlic cloves

2 small red chillies, seeded and chopped

3 tablespoons of orange blossom honey (see note above)

4 tablespoons of chopped parsley

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Halve the lemons and squeeze out the juice, reserving the squeezed lemon halves.
2. Skin and crush two of the garlic cloves, mix them with the lemon juice, chillies, the honey and seasoning. Stir well and pour over the chicken, pack the lemon halves around the chicken. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight (see note above), turning once or twice.
3. When you are ready to cook the chicken, turn the chicken pieces skin side up and scatter over the remaining garlic cloves(unskinned), keep the lemons packed around the chicken pieces.
4. Place in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for about 45mins until cooked through and well browned.
5. Scatter over the parsley; serve with the lovely pan juices and the garlic cloves which will now be beautifully soft, ready to be popped out of their skins! (you can use the lemon halves for decoration).