Slow Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chicken

Asked by juliaclaire. Answered on 2nd January 2014

Full question

Hello there, I am planning on making Nigella's Slow Roasted Garlic And Lemon Chicken. If I were to add potatoes to the dish would I add these at the beginning of the roasting? Thank you.

Please tell me how I can adapt this recipe using skinless breast fillets. Thanks, Davonn.

Our answer

Nigella's Slow Roasted Garlic And Lemon Chicken (from Forever Summer and on the Nigella website) is a slow-cooked form of her popular "traybakes". It is possible to add potatoes to the dish and we would suggest peeling 4 to 5 medium-sized potatoes and slicing them about 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) thick. Layer the potatoes in the bottom of the pan and sit the remaining ingredients on top. The potatoes won't need pre-cooking as the cooking time is quite long and they will absorb some of the delicious chicken juices as they cook. You may also like to line the pan with a layer of baking parchment (parchment paper) to reduce the risk of the potatoes sticking to the pan.

Unfortunately we would not recommend using chicken breasts in this recipe. The slow cooking method is not really suitable for chicken breasts as they will dry out and not be particularly palatable. Chicken thighs have a slightly higher fat content which helps to keep them moist during cooking, and cooking them with skin and on the bone also helps with moisture and flavour (you can remove the skin before eating if you like). For chicken breasts we would suggest a fast cooking method, such as Chicken Schnitzel or Tarragon Chiicken (both recipes are available on the Nigella website).