Lemon Herb Chicken & Rice

Standard · 35 min · Serves 2 · American

Dietary: gluten-free, nut-free

Golden pan-seared chicken breast finished in a bright lemon-garlic butter sauce, served over parsley-flecked rice.

Ingredients

For 2 servings

Rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs mostly clear. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil, add the rice and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until the grains are tender with no chalky center. Drain, return to the pot, cover and keep off the heat. Start the chicken while it simmers.

Pat the chicken dry with paper towel so it browns rather than steams. Season both sides with salt and pepper, then rub with the finely grated zest of the lemon and the oregano, if using. Keep the zested lemon for the sauce.
Heat the olive oil in a heavy 25 cm (10 inch) skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay in the chicken and cook for 5 to 6 minutes without moving it, until deep golden underneath and it releases easily from the pan.
Turn and cook for 5 to 6 minutes more, until golden on the second side and cooked through: 74°C (165°F) in the thickest part, or the juices run clear when pierced. Move to a plate to rest.

Pour off all but about a teaspoon of the fat and lower the heat to medium. Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds, until fragrant but not browned.
Pour in the stock and the juice of the lemon, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until reduced by about a third.
Turn the heat to low and swirl in the butter until it melts into a glossy sauce. Return the chicken and any juices from the plate and turn it in the sauce to coat.

Fork the parsley through the warm rice, then serve the chicken on the rice with the pan sauce spooned over.