Lemon Chicken Breasts

This recipe is from The Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That?  I’ve made it a lot, because, well, it’s easy.  It’s also delicious.  It can be put together ahead and baked whenever.  The pan juices are great over rice or couscous.

Boneless chicken breasts with the skin on can be harder to find, you will most likely have to go to a butcher shop.  In Louisville, Red Hog Artisan Meat has them in the case, and Fresh Market and Paul's Market both have butchers that will bone a chicken breast and leave the skin on.  Whole Foods might do so as well, but I have never asked.  

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic - 9 cloves (I only used 5, seemed enough to me)
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest from two lemons
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (I used the juice of one of the zested lemons, it measured about 3 tablespoons)
• 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon of minced thyme leaves
• Salt and pepper
• 4 skin on boneless chicken breasts
• 1 lemon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat the olive oil with the garlic in a small pan for a minute or two, but do not let the garlic brown.
   
3. Put the garlic & oil, white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon of salt into a 9 x 12 inch baking dish and stir.
   
4. Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up in the dish.
5. Brush the chicken with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper,
6. Cut the lemon into wedges and tuck among the chicken (I used the second zested lemon for this rather than an additional lemon).
7. Tuck some thyme sprigs among the chicken.
   
8. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the chicken is done (165 degrees) and the skin is browned.  If the skin is not browned, place under the broiler for a couple of minutes.
   
9. Allow to rest for 10 minutes and serve with the pan juices.  Ina directs you to cover the chicken during its rest, but I prefer not to since the skin will not stay crisp.