Grandma Rose's Lemon Italian Chicken

This chicken is a little different as it does have fresh or canned tomatoes in as well as lemon. This is a great recipe. Serve with Italian flat green beans, and polenta, or garlic mashed potatoes or just a fresh out of the garden salad.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 4  lbs roasting chickens, cut into 8 portions
• 3  tablespoons olive oil
• 1  small carrot, minced
• 1  small onion, minced
• 4  tablespoons Italian parsley, minced
• 6  fresh sage leaves or 6  dried sage
• 1  lemon zest, shredded
• 1  large garlic clove, minced
• 1⁄16 teaspoon ground cloves (pinch only)
• 3⁄4 cup  chopped fresh tomatoes or 3⁄4 cup canned tomato, drained and chopped
• 2⁄3 cup chicken broth (or drained tomato juices)
• 5  tablespoons fresh lemon juice (divided)

Directions

1. Rinse and dry the chicken pieces well. Heat the oil in a large frypan over medium high heat, slip in the pieces of chiken skin side down, not letting them touch each other.
2. Brown over medium heat or lower adjusting the temperature so the chicken colours slowly taking about 15 minutes to reach a nice amber colour.
3. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper as they cook, then turn with a wooden fork and spatula, try not to pierce the chicken and letting out the juices. We are only browning the chicken well at this stage.
4. Remove the browned chicken to a large platter.
5. Pour off all but a few tablespoons of the fat.
6. Place the frypan over medium heat and add the carrot, onion, parsley, and sage leaves, and cook until the onion starts to turn golden brown.
7. Stir in the lemon zest and keep stirring until onion is deep golden.
8. Taking care not too burn the brown bits and glaze on the bottom of frypan.
9. Blend in the minced garlic, a pinch of ground cloves, the tomatoes, and liquid of choice ( water, canned drained juices, or chicken broth).
10. Scraping the liquid into the brown bits to free up.
11. Add the chicken back into the frypan with 2 tablespoons only of lemon juice, bring all to a gentle simmer bubble.
12. Cover the pan and cook another 15 minutes.
13. Uncover the pan now and cook the last ten minutes, turning all the pieces to keep moist, and condensing down.
14. The sauce should be thickened and clinging to the chicken pieces.
15. Now ready to serve have a hot platter ready.
16. Sprinkle the remaining 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice over the chicken taste for salt and pepper.
17. Pile the chicken onto the plater and moisten all the pieces with pan juices.
18. Sprinkle with extra minced parsley.