We are all down with a terrible flu of varying degrees and I didn’t get the crayfish I thought would be cheap with China not wanting to buy from Tasmania. Plus the hubs didn’t get anything that could be cooked in a jiffy. So I was at my wits ends for a 2nd week running. 
So to boost all our immune systems and have a tasty meal, I decided I had to add garlic, lemon and red onion to the mix. And chicken soup is supposed to help with flus, right? I had no soup but had some drumsticks. I was too tired to stand around the stove so I baked the lot. Apparently it was very fragrant according to the hubs. I can’t smell a thing. But the taste was definitely there and great since I’ve been having close to no appetite for a while. I sprinkled the top with some fried pine nuts for added texture and taste. Worked wonders with bub who was asking repeatedly for additional helpings. I love how the garlic bakes to a lovely creamy paste – and this comes from a garlic hater.
Baked chicken for a flu
Makes enough for 4
Ingredients
4 chicken drumsticks
1 large red onion thinly sliced
1 bulb of garlic, separated into cloves with membranes still intact
1 lemon sliced thinly
1 sprig of rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil + 1 tbsp EVOO to fry pine nuts
Pine nuts 40g
Method
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius
- Rub salt and pepper into the chicken drumsticks. Line up in the baking pan in a single layer.
- Place red onion, garlic, lemon and rosemary over chicken and drizzle EVOO over.
- Cover pan with 2x layer of aluminium foil and bake for 40 minutes or until the juices run dry when the thickest portion of the chicken is speared.
- Meanwhile, heat up EVOO in a saucepan and fry the pine nuts on medium heat, constantly stirring until golden brown.
- Sprinkle pinenuts over chicken when done.
- Serve with potatoes or rice as preferred.
Tips
- Don’t eat the lemon!
- You can bake this together with potatoes. So that saves time!
- Added after feedback from one of my readers: This method of baking will give a gravy. Some people may not like it. If you do not like gravy, then bake without the foil. My kid finds the chicken baked without the foil too dry though. But the skin does come out nice and crisp.
Wow, hate to do this but I have to say that this recipe was a real let down. Flavors came through somewhat OK but the real turn off for us was the chicken bathing in fat/juice from the skin when we pulled back the foil. We ended up draining the dish and roasting the contents for 5 minutes before we ate.
FWIW,
Oscar
Thanks for your feedback Oscar! I got the exact same result. I do apologize if I have given you the wrong impression. My family likes the gravy from the baked chicken (vs roast) but I will highlight it in my post so that no further misunderstandings occur! : )
I could do with some of this right now, a nasty cold has me in its grips.
Oh dear! Do take care!