Lemon Chicken with Roasted Carrots, Fennel and Mint

Lemon Chicken with Roasted Carrots, Fennel and Mint

• Poultry naturally goes well with lemon and when combined with these oven-roasted veggies, the finished product is pretty awesome!Ingredients:

  1 fennel bulb
  1 carrot
  1 red onion
  2 boneless skin-on chicken breasts
  1 lemon
  1 tsp. fresh dill
  15 Kalamata olives
  2 Tbsp. fresh mint leaves
  Celtic Sea Salt
  Black pepper
  Olive oil

  Instructions:

  Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Cut the fennel lengthwise into quarters and cut away the core; cut the quarters lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices.

  Scrub or peel the carrots and trim off the tops; cut the carrots on the diagonal into 1/2-inch thick slices.

  Peel and cut the red onion crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices; separate the slices into rings.

  On a sheet pan, toss the fennel, carrots and onion with 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread in an even layer and roast, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned and tender, 18-20 minutes. While the vegetables roast, prepare the chicken.

  Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and season generously with salt and pepper. Cut half of the lemon into 4 slices; juice the other half and set aside for the dill sauce.

  Loosen the skin of each chicken breast and tuck 2 lemon slices under the skin. Gently stretch the skin to cover the slices.

  In a medium frying pan over medium-high heat, warm 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook until the skin is well browned, 5-6 minutes. Turn and cook until the meat is cooked through, 3-5 minutes depending on thickness. While the chicken cooks, prepare the dill sauce.

  Coarsely chop the dill. In a small bowl, stir together the dill, lemon juice, and 1-2 tsp. olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

  Cut the olives in half and coarsely chop the mint leaves. Add to the roasted vegetables just as they are finished cooking and stir to combine.

  When the chicken is cooked through, transfer, along with the vegetables, to individual plates. Drizzle the dill sauce over the chicken and serve.

  Serves 2

  Recipe Credit: SunBasket.com