Creamy baked lemon pepper chicken thighs

1 hour cooking | Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 tsp paprika
• 8 boneless chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 clove garlic, crushed
• ¼ cup chicken stock
• 2 lemons
• ¼ cup cream or crème fraîche
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves, firmly packed
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
• lemon pepper seasoning
• 4 tbsp lemon zest (about 4 lemons)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt

Method

1. Make the lemon pepper seasoning (see below).
2. Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine 1 tbsp lemon pepper seasoning and the paprika, and sprinkle over the chicken pieces, coating them all over.
3. Melt the butter in a frying pan; brown the chicken on both sides. Remove and place in a heatproof baking dish.
4. Add garlic to the pan, cook gently for 1 minute, then add the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes or until reduced by half.
5. Zest and juice 1 lemon. Stir zest and juice into pan, add cream, spinach and parmesan and pour over the chicken pieces. Slice the remaining lemon and place pieces around the pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked.

Lemon pepper seasoning

Place zest on non-stick baking paper and either leave out at room temperature for several hours until completely dry, or place in a low oven for around 20 minutes, taking care to dry, not cook. When dried, combine with pepper and salt, and grind in a mortar and pestle or with the back of a spoon. Store in an airtight container.