Baked Chicken with French Lentil Salad

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This delicious Baked Chicken with French Lentil Salad recipe is a fantastic example of how you can turn everyday ingredients in your house into something amazing. The Flavors in the Chicken are phenomenal as we coat it in a simple, but delicious seasoning mix. The French Lentils offer a healthier base for the dish than your typical rice or noodles. The Lentils are paired with an array of wonderfully roasted Vegetables like Bell Pepper and Onions which brings an amazing flavor to the whole dish. This is a simple, affordable, and tasty dinner to feed the family

Roasting Chicken Breast is a simple and delicious method

Often playing second fiddle to pan-frying, oven roasting Chicken Breast is a great choice for easy cooking. There’s no need to keep monitoring the Chicken or constantly move it around the pan. All you need to do is whack it into the Oven until it’s cooked

Ok, if you’re unfamiliar with roasting Chicken then you’ll probably want to check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer a couple of times as it cooked. Once you cook this dish a few times, however, you’ll work out exactly how long it’ll take in the oven. Each oven is different, so they sometimes cook at higher or lower temperatures. Once you cook it a few times you’ll know the sweet spot!

Oven roasting allows you to retain all the Chicken flavor

An often-overlooked fact of oven roasting is you can retain so much flavor in the meat. When pan frying the Chicken, a lot of the delicious seasoning that is added to the Chicken ends up on the pan, and not in the Chicken. When oven roasting, all that delicious seasoning sticks to the Chicken, resulting in a much more flavorsome bite

For our Baked Chicken with French Lentil Salad, we use a simple, but ridiculously tasty seasoning combination of Turmeric, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and Salt. This gives the Chicken a rich flavor that complements the French Lentil Salad

You can substitute French Lentils for any other kind of Lentil if you like

The vast number of Lentils available to us grocery shoppers is staggering. Honestly, they all have similar (subtle) flavor profiles and are cooked similarly. For this dish we’re opting for French Lentils, mainly because they are widely popular, and they look great on the plate

However, you can use whichever type of Lentils you prefer – or can get your hands on. The flavors in the dish are not going to be altered too much depending on this choice. The real flavor that comes from the Lentil Salad is from using Chicken Broth (we always recommend good quality homemade stuff), and caramelized, roasted Vegetables

So, if you’ve got an open pack of Lentils in the pantry, this is 100% the dish to use them in!

A little bit of multi-tasking is required to make this dish

Who doesn’t love a bit of multi-tasking in the kitchen right? Don’t be put off, it’s quite easily managed, and we’ll show you how to do it. If you’re not a fan of multi-tasking then that’s completely fine too. You can simply prepare the Lentils in advance and then re-heat it once your Chicken is cooked

For those who are comfortable with a bit of multi-tasking, there are three components to this Baked Chicken with French Lentil Salad dish that has a little bit of overlap when cooking. Those three components are

1. Seasoning and Baking the Chicken
2. Preparing the French Lentil Salad
3. Making the Yoghurt Sauce
   
   

Let’s talk you through the process to get this dish done by perfecting these three simple steps

1. Seasoning and Baking the Chicken

The very first step you need to take is making the spice seasoning for the Chicken then applying it to the Chicken. It’s as simple as combining Salt, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, and Turmeric in a small bowl then rubbing it generously over the Chicken

For the best flavor, we recommend leaving the Chicken for 30 minutes at room temperature to absorb those beautiful spices. The flavor will simply intensify during this process, and it also allows you to bring the Chicken to room temperature. This is important, as it means you’ll get a more even cook on the Chicken (and it’ll cook quicker too!)

The Chicken will be added to the Oven while the Vegetables are already in there cooking away. Hence this is where a bit of overlap happens. The Vegetables will take longer to cook than the Chicken, which is why we need to start the French Lentil Salad while the Chicken is marinating

2. Preparing the French Lentil Salad

Lentils don’t pack a huge amount of flavor. That’s where the Vegetables come into the equation. Roasting Vegetables is the best way to extract their flavor, and they work so well in this dish. Add the prepared Vegetables to a large sheet pan and season them well with Olive Oil and Salt

Then, place them in the Oven that has been pre-heated to 400F. The Vegetables will take about 45 minutes to roast completely. The time may depend based on the size of your Veggies. There’s a chance the Celery and Carrots will cook a bit sooner, so just check on them as they’re cooking away. Turn them once about halfway through the cook as well

Set your timer for 20 minutes once the Veggies are in the oven. This is a pivotal point in this dish, as it’s when we begin to cook the Lentils. It is also the time when the Chicken is added to the Oven. Once that Chicken is cooking away, it’s time to make the Lentils – which couldn’t be easier

Simply heat the Chicken Broth in a saucepan until it starts to boil. Add the Lentils then drop the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. That’s all you need to do! Stir them occasionally to keep things moving. If you wash your Lentils before adding them to the Broth you won’t need to skim them while they cook

If you time it all right, the Chicken and Vegetables will be cooked by the time the Lentils are done! So, let the Chicken rest while you cut up the Veggies and add them to the Lentils (along with some Butter!) and you’re almost ready to eat

A fresh and vibrant Yoghurt Sauce ties the whole dish together perfectly

3. Making a simple and delicious Yoghurt Sauce

I say almost done, because the final step is making this amazing Yoghurt Sauce. The sauce ties the whole dish together, and adds a luscious, creaminess to the Lentils. The Yoghurt Sauce is a basic combination of ingredients: Greek Yoghurt, some diced Garlic, Lemon Juice, and a bit of Salt

Mix all that together and give it a taste, adjusting the ingredients if needed. That’s all there is to it. This Yoghurt Sauce is so good in our Baked Chicken with French Lentil Salad dish, but it works with so many other meals. We always have a portion of this sauce prepared and in the fridge to enjoy with dinner

Baked Chicken with French Lentil Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 1 tsp. Turmeric
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Chives, finely diced
  
  

French Lentil Salad Ingredients

• 1 cup of French Lentils, washed
• 3 cups of Chicken Broth (recipe here)
• 2 Celery Stalks, cut in half
• 2 Carrots, peeled and cut in half
• 1 Bell Pepper
• 1 Onion, cut into quarters
• 1 tbsp. Unsalted Butter
• 1 tbsp. of Olive Oil
• 2 tsp. Salt
  
  

Yoghurt Sauce Ingredients

• ½ cup of Greek Yoghurt
• 2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
• Juice of ½ a Lemon
• ½ tsp. Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Make the Chicken seasoning by combining Turmeric, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and 1 tsp. of Salt in a small bowl. Coat the Chicken with the seasoning and allow to marinade for 30 minutes
2. Prepare your Vegetables and place them on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with Olive Oil and season with Salt before roasting in the oven pre-heated to 400F for 45 minutes
3. 20 minutes into roasting, add the Chicken to the pan then place back into the oven for the remaining 25 minutes
   
   

Preparing the French Lentils

4. Once the Chicken is in the oven bring the Chicken Broth to a boil in a Saucepan. Add the Lentils, drop the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until cooked and tender
5. Remove the Vegetables and Chicken from the Oven once cooked (the Vegetables will be tender and caramelized, and the internal temperature of the Chicken will be 160F). Set the Chicken aside to rest
6. Remove the seeds and skin from the Pepper then slice into cubes along with the Onion, Carrot, and Celery. Add Veggies to the Lentils along with the Butter and 1 tsp. of Salt. Mix well to combine
   
   

Making the Yoghurt Sauce and plating

7. In a small bowl combine the Greek Yoghurt, Garlic, Lemon Juice, and ½ tsp. of Salt
8. Add a generous spoonful of Lentils to a plate. Slice the Chicken with diagonal cuts and place on top of the Lentils. Finish with a dollop of Yoghurt Sauce and top with freshly cut Chives
   
   

Recipe Notes

• Keep your eye on the Vegetables as they roast. You may need to remove the Celery and Carrots a little earlier. Once they start to Caramelize they’re done
• You can prepare the Lentils in advance and simply re-heat them on the stove when you’re ready to eat
  
  

We hope you enjoy this tasty Baked Chicken with French Lentil Salad recipe. It’s a perfect way to add flair and flavor to otherwise standard ingredients and it tastes amazing. We highly recommend you give this dish a try and we’re sure it’ll be added to your weekly rotation as an affordable and delicious dinner

If you like this dish, here are a few more great dinner meals we recommend you try:

• Sweet and Sour Red Curry with Chicken
• Peppercorn Steak and Pea Puree
• Salmon with Dill Sauce and Barley Salad
• Chicken and Chorizo Rice
  
  

Happy Cooking!