Tangy, refreshing lemon, packed with goodness.
I am a huge lemon fan; love its refreshing, tangy flavor and lemon is a welcome addition to most of the dishes I enjoy. My dear friend Hande knows my soft spot for lemons and she made us a delicious chicken course using this lemon pepper blend while we stayed with them in Houston. It was my first time to try this blend and I greatly enjoyed it.
Lemon pepper spice blend; delicious on fish, poultry and vegetables.
Lemon pepper blend consists of good sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, lemon peel, garlic and onion. It is wonderful on fish and equally as good on chicken, turkey and vegetables. The spice store Penzeys have it; alternatively, you can also make your own.
Baked chicken with summer vegetables and lemon pepper; a delicious main course you can prepare ahead of time.
Hande kindly gave me some extra lemon pepper seasoning and we recently made this delicious baked chicken with summer vegetables. Runner beans, or string beans or taze fasulye are in season until about October and they are delicious in this dish. Peppers, zucchini, tomato all worked well here with the tangy lemon pepper. I also added some cooked chickpeas here, as commonly used in Southern Turkish cooking, like in this stuffed zucchini/courgettes with ground meat, tomatoes, onions and chickpeas recipe. It turned out to be a wholesome, delicious meal, (late) summer on a plate. An easy, wonderful casserole you can prepare ahead of time and leftovers freeze very well.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4
Serves 2-4
Preparation time: 35 minutes Cooking time: 45 minutes
450 gr./1lb chicken breast, cut into small chunks
175gr/6oz. runner beans (or string beans)
2 small zucchini (courgette), cut in half and sliced
2 onions, chopped coarsely
4-6 garlic cloves, diced
3 small bell peppers (green, yellow and red), deseeded and cut into chunks
400gr/14oz. -1 can of chopped tomatoes
400gr/14oz; 1 can of cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed
30ml/2 tbsp. olive oil
240ml/8 fl. oz. /1 cup water
To marinate the chicken:
Juice of 1 lemon
15ml/1 tbsp. lemon pepper seasoning (*)
15ml/1 tbsp. olive oil
(*) To make your own lemon pepper seasoning:
Zest of 1 lemon
10ml/ 2 tsp. sea salt (you can have if you prefer)
5ml/1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
Turkish red pepper flakes/ Pul Biber
Plain rice
To make your own lemon pepper; combine the lemon zest with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, ready to season the chicken (I didn’t add garlic and onion to this blend, as I used plenty onions and garlic at the chicken bake).
In a bowl, combine the lemon pepper, lemon juice and olive oil and rub this mixture to the chicken pieces, mix well. Cover and keep in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or so that the flavors can blend.
Summer on a plate; runner beans, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini taste delicious in this chicken casserole.
While the chicken is marinating, prepare your vegetables. Top and tail the beans and pull away any strings and cut into 3-4 pieces. I also like to cut them in half into thin strips. Combine the rest of the vegetables in a baking dish, stir in the olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Place the marinated chicken in a heavy pan and sauté for 3-5 minutes to seal their juice. Turn the heat off.
Stir in the sautéed chicken to the vegetables mix and add the chopped tomatoes and water. Give them all a good mix. Bake in the pre-heated oven, uncovered for about 35 minutes.
About 35 minutes later, stir in the rinsed, cooked chickpeas to the mixture, combine well. Bake for another 10 minutes or so, until the chicken and vegetables starting to turn nicely golden brown on top.
Chicken casserole with summer vegetables, chickpeas and lemon pepper; a delicious and wholesome main course
If you like a little heat like we do, sprinkle some Turkish red pepper flakes, pul biber on the finished dish, just before you serve.
- Here is my plate! This baked chicken with vegetables make a delicious, complete meal with plain rice and natural yoghurt by the side.
You can serve your baked chicken with summer vegetables with plain rice and natural plain yoghurt aside. Cacik, the cucumber yoghurt dip with mint would also be a delicious accompaniment.
Afiyet Olsun,
Ozlem