Zesty Lemon Pepper Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes
My Zesty Lemon Pepper Chicken with Cherry Mixed Tomatoes recipe is just in time for the summer when beautiful and juicy tomatoes are abundant. A superb and colorful dish with a hint of the brute taste of the scotch bonnet pepper’s dark rum and spiciness. What more can you ask for?
I inherited my love of cooking with rum from my father. As a young girl, I always thought that my dad was a bit eccentric with his cooking. One day he explained to me that cooking with alcohol is a method that must be mastered. I seriously thought he was joking back then.
Haitian Caribbean cuisine, as you might know, is derived from many other cultures. Cooking with alcohol is normal for us. My dad loved adding whiskey and dark rum in poultry and meat dishes. He always said that it was not only for taste but also to facilitate cooking. He did not like using a pressure cooker, and adding alcohol would speed up any meat’s cooking process.
Did you know that you have to cook meat for a good 3 hours to eradicate all alcohol traces? Yes, but it also depends on the amount and the method of cooking.
Cooking chicken in wine or rum is always an adventure to stardom for me. Yes, I always envision being a star in my kitchen. I know this may sound a bit corny but it’s true. LOL
Best lemon chicken recipes are created with the right blend of spices. I do not usually cook with Lemon and Pepper Seasoning but if I have it in my pantry I will use it. Mixing my blend of fresh spices with the lemon pepper spice blend is a genius idea. The peppery and acid taste is just what a good chicken recipe needs.
To make this wonderful recipe, you must use a nonstick pan when pan-frying the chicken pieces. As far as the cherry tomatoes, I love using a mixture of different colors because everything looks so colorful at the end. You can also use your preferred spice brand of lemon and pepper spice. Lastly, Rhum Barbancourt is my choice for rum.
Rhum Barbancourt is a sugar cane dark rum from Haiti. Added to meat or poultry, the taste is especially marvelous. The alcohol will burn off giving you absolutely melt-in-your-mouth goodness just in time for a festive dinner.
Enjoy!
Zesty Lemon Pepper Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons McCormick® Perfect Pinch® Lemon & Pepper Seasoning
- 6 skinless chicken thighs
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pint Cherry tomatoes multi color
- 1 large onion sliced
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- Thyme sprigs
- 1 Scotch bonnet seeds removed
- 2 tablespoons green seasoning
- ½ cup dark rum (Rhum Barbancourt preferably)
- ½ cup chicken stock
Instructions
- Clean the chicken pieces in a vinegar or lemon bath. Pat dry and set aside.
- Mix flour and Lemon & Pepper Seasoning in shallow dish. Coat evenly with seasoned flour.
- Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Cook 1/2 of the chicken pieces 4 to 5 minutes per side or until golden brown. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding additional butter if necessary.
- Place chicken pieces on a baking sheet preferably and roast in an oven at 400 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes or until fully cooked.
- Meanwhile, in the dutch oven, green seasoning or basic seasoning blend, add tomatoes, thyme, garlic, hot pepper, and cook 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
- In another pan, heat 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, add rum and chicken stock and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken pieces to the tomato sauce with the rum sauce, bring to a quick boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Continue to cook for 15 minutes so all the flavors can come together. Serve hot with rice or pasta.
Nutrition
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
