September 17, 2011 5 comments

Lemon Chicken & White Beans with Pesto

One pot dinners are priceless when it comes to weeknight dinners.  Magic happens when you can toss everything into one giant pot, throw it in the oven and watch an entire meal come out.  Calling for only a tiny amount of planning (soaking the beans overnight), this recipe needs to be added to your arsenal of one-pot dinners perfect for the chilly fall weather knocking on our door.

A warm bowl of creamy, lemony white beans topped with tender shredded chicken and a zesty dollop of pesto for added kick.  The kind of meal that warms you from the inside out, this is perfect for a family dinner or can be dressed up for a quick dinner party.  Easy, delicious and healthy … what else are you waiting for?

The hardest part about this dish is remembering to soak the white beans the night before.  If you can manage to remember that, the rest is all downhill.  You saute up some garlic and onions.  Toss in the beans, some big hunks of lemon rind, top with the chicken and throw it in the oven.  In about an hour your house will start to smell like a first class kitchen and your neighbors will start knocking to find out if they can bring their kids over for dinner.

This multi-tasking recipe calls for chicken thighs, which I had been hesitant to use for years.  They look funny and I was never sure what exactly to do with them.  But, they are extremely economical so I’ve been keeping an eye out for a recipe that would let me try them out.  I’ve made this recipe a handful of times now and I’ve used everything from chicken thighs to breasts to an entire chicken, butterflied across the top of the Dutch oven.  Yes, yes I did.  All of them came out perfectly.

I found this recipe on The Kitchn in the middle of summer.  Summer.  Definitely not braising weather.  It looked so amazingly delicious I couldn’t resist and whipped it up on an 80 degree day.  Yup, I sure did.  While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the same thing, I can report back that it was 100% worth it.  Since this was a summer recipe it calls for a fancy mint pesto.  I’ve made it since with a standard basil pesto and it was just as good.  Also, feel free to use a jarred pesto if fresh herbs are hard to come by in your area this time of the year.

Lemon Chicken & White Beans with Pesto

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients-

1 pound dried cannelini or other small white bean
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small white onion, diced
2 lemons
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 sprigs fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried thyme
2/3 cup finely chopped fresh dill fronds or 2 tablespoons dried dill

For the Pesto:
4 packed cups mint or basil leaves
1/3 cup almonds (or pine nuts if you want a traditional pesto)
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more if necessary
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions-

- The night before making the dish, place the dried beans in a large pot, cover with water and refrigerate overnight to soak. Fill with more water as needed so that the beans are covered during the entire soaking process.
- When ready to begin making the dish, drain the beans and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy ovenproof pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions. Saute until softened and translucent, approximately 3-5 minutes. Add the beans to the pot. Stir to coat beans with the garlic and onions.
- Using a vegetable peeler, make large peels of the rind of one lemon. The yellow part only! Add to the beans. Juice this one lemon into the beans and stir to combine.
- Pat the chicken dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper and lay over the top of the beans. Lay sprigs of thyme over the top of the chicken.
- Carefully add water to the pot until it comes up to the top of the beans but does not touch the chicken. Increase to high heat until water comes to a simmer. Once simmering, cover pot and move to the preheated oven.
- Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until beans are creamy.
- While chicken and beans are baking, prepare the pesto. Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse to combine until a creamy, paste forms. Store, covered, in the refrigerator until using.
- Once beans are creamy, remove pot from oven. Remove chicken from the pot. Discard thyme. Carefully shred the chicken and set aside.
- Add juice of the remaining lemon, dill and salt to the beans. Stir to combine.
- Serve beans topped with shredded chicken and a dollop of pesto. Enjoy!

Adapted from The Kitchn's Lemon Braised Chicken with Beans

Entrees, Gluten-Free, Low Glycemic

5 comments