Lemon Rosemary Chicken in a Cast-Iron Skillet

Lemon Rosemary Chicken in a Cast-Iron Skillet

Lemon Rosemary Chicken in a Cast Iron Skillet is definitely included in my long list of delicious skillet recipes that I cook in my Staub Paella Pan. I often make this version of Lemon Rosemary Chicken dish at home for my family.  I prefer using fresh rosemary oppose to dry rosemary for this dish, if possible. It makes a big difference in the taste.

My husband loves this dish and most lemon chicken dishes, like chicken piccata (especially veal piccata) which is another delicious he loves. This particular Italian dish is named Pollo e Limone e Rosemarino, in Italian. I was inspired to make this dish because of the Santa Barbara I Madonnari, Italian street festival at the Santa Barbara Mission this weekend. It’s a three-day street painting festival with artists painting life size art pieces in chalk on the street. The festival has the best food booths serving caprese, gelato, Italian ice cones, and other yummy Italian dishes. The sister festival is in Grazie di Curtatone, Italy where the first International street painting festival started in 1972.

This dish always reminds me of my trip to Italy. I traveled to Europe one summer with a friend while I was in college and visited England, France, Spain, and Italy. It was such an incredible and enriching experience to travel to all of those incredible countries and experience their beautiful cultures. While I was in Italy, I traveled on the Euro-rail and visited Florence, Rome, and Sicily.

While I was in Sicily, we stayed with my friend’s family in a small town, and I experienced life through the lens of the Sicilian culture. Everything I ate had some combination of garlic, olive oil, and lemon. My culinary journey was sparked on this trip with pasta, gelato, Sicilian pizza (OMG!), roasted chicken with olive oil and rosemary, and lot’s of roasted vegetables with olive oil and lemon. My trip was incredible, with great company and delicious food.

This dish has a nice zesty flavor with a hint of lemon.

I hope you enjoy our recipe.

Serves 4-6

Marinade:
10 Garlic  Cloves
1/3 cup of olive oil
3 Tbsp. of Rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne
Lemon Zest,
1 whole Lemon, Juiced
1 whole Orange, Juiced
Lemon zest

Chicken:
2 sprigs of Rosemary
2 lbs. of chicken drumsticks and thighs
1 Red Onion, cut into wedges,
10 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
1 whole Lemon, sliced

For the Marinade:

In a food processor, mix all of the ingredients and pulsate a couple of times until pulverized. Add 1/3 of the mixture In a bowl or a bag for marinading add the mixture with the chicken and marinade for 1 to six hours.

Roast the Chicken:

After the chicken has been marinated, pat each piece dry. Heat the oven to 450 Degrees. Heat the cast iron skillet on the stove and add olive oil to the hot pan. Lower the heat to medium and when the oil is hot, add the chicken and saute one each side. When the chicken is browned, place the crushed cloves, lemon slices, onion wedges, all around the chicken.  Place into the oven for 30 minutes or until the chicken has reached 160 degrees.

Serve with a side of potatoes, pasta, or arugula salad.