Lovely lemons...

I don't know if it's because I've been struggling with a cold for the past couple of days or if I have some sort of vitamin C deficiency but I have really been into lemons lately.  Over the past couple of years I have grown rather fond of lemons, the fact that they can create a wonderfully flavourful dinner and be the focal point of a surprisingly satisfying dessert is a rare and beautiful thing.  Lemons can even lift a cold glass of ice water to another level - sweet and summery.

For dinner tonight I tried two lemony dishes, a lemon marinated chicken breast and a lemon-spinach risotto.  I won't speak more of the risotto because it was a flop.  The lemon did not go well with the other ingredients and it was overall a disappointment.

The chicken, on the other hand, was lovely.  Lemon chicken is a classic and so easy to make - it's a great way to turn a relatively flavourless meat into something tender and juicy.  It works really well in Singapore because we don't have a BBQ - pan frying chicken can be a bit tricky but a lemon marinade is great.  For anyone who doesn't have a lemon chicken recipe here's one:

Add the following ingredients to a large ziploc bag:
The juice of 2 lemons
A few sprigs of thyme
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 shallot or small red onion, finely diced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and Pepper

Prick the chicken breasts all over with a fork and toss into the bag.  Let marinade in fridge for 6-8 hours and then pull from the fridge up to 1 hr before cooking so that you don't shock the meat when you toss it into the pan.
Heat the pan with a little oil and add chicken breasts (don't add the marinade - you can toss it at this point).  Cook on medium heat until cooked through.