Allow me to introduce your new favorite cozy Winter dish…creamy lemon chicken with rice and green beans.
The night before prep on this meal made the process go way fast the next day…and let me tell you…this was a STELLAR meal if I do say so myself.
I juiced two small lemons (and zested one of them), then added olive oil, a small red onion, a sprig of thyme, and salt and pepper…
Then added chicken breasts and tossed them until they were coated.
I also added cashews to a jar of hot water to let them soak (and soften up) overnight.
The next day the chicken was ready to go!
I scooped out the red onions first, as best I could, and let them saute away in some olive oil until they were translucent before adding in the chicken with everything else left in the bowl (marinating juices and any onions still there).
Then I added the cashew “cream”.
To make that, I drained the cashews and added them to a blender with fresh water that just covered the cashews and pulsed them until they were silky smooth.
Once the chicken was nestled into the pan with the cashew cream on top, I let it cook on medium heat with the lid on for 5-7 minutes.
After that I flipped them over and took the lid off for the final 5-10 minutes.
You could throw it in the oven to broil for a minute or two if you really want to get a nice crust on the top.
Serve with rice and steamed green beans, spooning the extra juices over everything.
Creamy lemon chicken
Ingredients:
- 2 small lemons, juiced (plus the zest from one of those lemons)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small red onion, sliced
- leaves from 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 cup cashews
- ~3 lb chicken (I used thinly sliced breasts, but you could swap in thighs or tenders or whatever cut you want)
- 1 1/2 cups white rice
- 2 cups chopped green beans
Directions:
First start soaking the cashews in hot water. The longer you can do this the better – I did it overnight, but do whatever you can.
Next start the rice, cooking it in water with a 2:1 ratio of water:grain until fluffy.
In a separate pot, cook green beans – either submerged in water or in a steam basket.
Next it’s time for the chicken.
[To prep ahead, add lemon juice, zest, oil, red onion and spices to the chicken to marinate up to a day ahead.]
If not making ahead of time, chop the red onion and add to a large saute pan with the oil and saute until translucent. Meanwhile, add the lemon juice, zest, and spices to the chicken. When the onions are cooked, add the chicken and cook for a few minutes on high heat, so a bit of char develops on the bottom. Use the lemon juice to deglaze the pan as needed.
While the chicken is cooking, make the cashew cream. Drain the soaked cashews and refill with fresh water that is high enough to cover the nuts. Pulse in a blender until smooth.
Pour the cashew cream over the chicken and add a lid for 5-7 minutes.
After chicken has cooked for a while, take the lid off, flip the chicken, scraping any bits off the bottom of the pan to incorporate into a sauce. Add more water as needed if the pan is too dry. Cook the chicken uncovered for the remaining time (5-10 minutes) until the meat is cooked through.
Serve over rice and green beans, spooning the extra sauce on top.
AMAZING.
It’s really lemony, but the creamy nature of the cashews reminds me of a creamy casserole kind of dish. Minus the dairy!
I bet this would be awesome as a baked dish too. I may give it a try with pasta and peas and report back.
