Baked Garlic Chicken & Potatoes
This is a traditional Lebanese dish and comes highly recommended. On my to cook list for sure. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Pan (9x13 inch)
Ingredients
- 2 kilos chicken, legs, thighs, breasts, up to you, (4 lb)
- 5 medium potatoes, sliced in ½ thick slices
- 20 cloves garlic, about 1½ heads
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- salt, to taste
- pinch Lebanese 7-spices, Shortcut
- vinegar, optional, as needed
Instructions
- Optional, if the chicken has a strong "chickeny" smell to it, soak in vinegar for 2 minutes, rinse well with cold water, pat dry with paper towels.
- Preheat your oven to 200° C (400° F). Get out a large baking pan.
- Remove skin from the chicken and discard, then make cuts in chicken in order to allow for garlic sauce to seep deep inside. Rub chicken with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of Lebanese 7-spices. Place chicken in a large baking dish.
- Place sliced potatoes on top of the chicken. and bake for 40-50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- While the chicken is baking, place the garlic cloves, ½ teaspoon of salt and 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a blender/food processor and mix for 4-5 minutes, add the lemon juice and mix for another 4-5 minutes until you have a nice lemony-garlicky sauce. OR Traditionally the sauce is made by crushing garlic with a pestle in a mortar while slowly adding the salt and olive oil thus turning it into a paste. And finally once you start adding the lemon juice all while continuing to stir and crush with the pestle, the paste turns into a beautiful sauce with a balanced garlic and lemon flavoring.
- Once the chicken has baked, take the tray out of the oven and very carefully drain any excess liquids that you see on the bottom.
- Pour the garlic sauce all over it while mixing it well with the potatoes and chicken, put back in the oven and broil for another 5-10 minutes until the potatoes start to brown up.
- Serve with a salad for a complete meal.
Notes
Chicken will cost 60 to 70 Baht/kilo depending if you are using breasts or legs and thighs. Going with quarters (separate the thighs from the legs) at 70 Baht/kilo, 2 kilos at 140 Baht, for 4 servings this is about $1.03 per serving.
Shortcut: Lebanese 7-Spices.
