This recipe has been one of my most popular Middle Eastern recipes therefore I would be remiss in not including it in our adventure through my Middle Eastern recipe collection. It has garnered millions of Facebook fans where I once maintained a presence, during those years I was on the Low Carbing Among Friends team. I no longer maintain a Facebook presence.
Our dear friends in Dallas have taken us several times to a wonderful little Lebanese restaurant over in Ft. Worth named Hedary’s. Family-operated for many years by a Lebanese family. I can say their tabouleh salad and kebabs are the best I’ve ever eaten. So is their slow-roasted baked lemon chicken known as Frarej. For those tables positioned close enough to do so, they used to serve their fresh-baked Lebanese bread all the way from behind the counter on long, paddled poles used to place them into and out of the ovens for cooking. Don’t know if they still do that, but is sure was fun to watch! Next time you’re in Ft. Worth, give Hedary’s a try!
In the meantime…………………..experience their delicious baked chicken at home! This Induction friendly version of their ever-popular lemony chicken dish is slightly changed, but just as yummy nonetheless. The original dish has potato wedges, so I always substitute rutabaga or turnip wedges to keep the carbs reasonably low. I did not include the root vegetables in the nutritional info below as I don’t always include them in the pan. I tend to vary the vegetables I use based on what I have on hand. So be sure to calculate the veggies you add (and consume) over and above what I consider to be the base recipe of onion, garlic and tomatoes. If you have family that are not on Atkins, I would definitely use a few wedges of potato for those folks, as they soak up those tasty pan juices like a sponge and are sooooooo tasty.
My rendition is very close to the inspirational dish from Hedary’s, though the tomatoes are my personal addition. I must confess, mine is good, but not QUITE as it is at Hedary’s. Sigh. I understand Hedary’s has left the original location and moved farther out in Ft. Worth somewhere. This meal is easy to prepare and the oven basically does the work for you! Gives a whole new meaning to Ron Popeel’s expression “Set it & forget it.” for a sheer heavenly, delicious dinner almost effortlessly. 🙂 Please follow directions closely as they are KEY to getting the best results.
INGREDIENTS:
4 T. olive oil
1 whole chicken cut into 8 pieces, cutting breast in half (Do not remove skin or you will ruin this dish)
4 oz. onion cut into wedges (separate layers)
2 Roma tomatoes cut into wedges
6-10 cloves garlic, (leave half of them whole, mince the rest)
½ tsp. oregano
Juice of 1 lemon
Dash salt and pepper
OPTIONAL: Original dish had potato wedges and whole carrots roasted in the pan with the chicken. The carrots are OK but I’d substitute in pieces of rutabaga, turnip or daikon radish for the potato wedges to keep carbs down.
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 500º (therefore do NOT use a ceramic baking dish!). Cut up chicken into separate pieces making 8 pieces in all. I never use the back as I simmer that for broth to freeze for other purposes or it becomes dinner for my dogs. 🙂 Drizzle 1 T. of the olive oil on the bottom of a very large METAL baking/roasting pan (I use a 12 x 15 stainless steel metal pan). If you don’t yet have a really large, good quality stainless steel roasting pan, I think it is one of the single most important investments you can make in your kitchen tools. Place chicken skin side up in the pan. You don’t want any overlapping or crowding. Do not use a glass/ceramic baking dish as it will break in a 500º oven.
Crowding of this chicken and the veggies in the pan will result in deeper pan juices. Deeper juices keeps chicken from crisping of the chicken, so use a really large pan. Place tomato wedges around and in between chicken pieces. Do the same with the onion pieces and add the garlic. If using the root vegetables, cut them up and place them evenly around the chicken. Squeeze the lemon over everything in the pan. Drizzle remaining olive oil over the pan contents as well. Lightly sprinkle some oregano or Greek seasoning over all (about 1/4-½ tsp, I don’t measure it). Bake 30 minutes at 500º. Baste with pan juices, lower heat to 350º and bake another 20 minutes or to internal temperature of 170º on a meat thermometer. Baste with pan juices just before serving. I like to place the juices in a gravy boat and have it on the table for basting the drier breast meat while eating. If there are any juices leftover after the meal, I always freeze them and add them to the bottom of the next pan I make of this recipe (which is often!). Each successive pan is therefore better than the last! I like to serve this chicken dish with my Cucumber Mint Salad or my Tabouleh salad
NUTRITIONAL INFO: (does NOT include the optional vegetables).
Please note, these numbers are only approximate, because the actual counts will vary depending on which pieces of chicken and which roasted veggies you consume.
Serves 4, each 2-piece serving contains: (these numbers do not include the carrots or rutabaga)
447 cals, 30.4 g fat, 7.98 g carbs, 1.1 g fiber, 6.88 g NET CARBS, 34.8 g protein, 39 mg. sodium
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