Martha’s Lemon Chicken

3 lemons, divided use

4 bone-in skinless chicken-breast halves (6-8 ounces each)

cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

½ cup chicken stock (or juice of 1 more lemon)

3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed

1-2 teaspoons fresh or dried tarragon, to taste

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grate the zest (yellow part only) from two lemons, and set it aside. Sprinkle the juice of one of the zested lemons over the chicken breasts. (Reserve the second lemon.)

Mix the flour, salt and paprika in a gallon-size zipper-top plastic bag. Shake one chicken breast at a time in the flour mixture, and then remove the chicken from the bag and shake off any excess flour. Repeat with each breast half. Discard the remaining flour mixture.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or skillet over high heat. Add the chicken, and fry until the chicken is lightly browned on both sides, about 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a foil-lined baking dish (foil is important to reduce cleanup time).

Thinly slice the remaining lemon (the one not zested), and top the chicken with lemon slices. Sprinkle the chicken with the reserved lemon zest and tarragon. Put in the oven, and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, juice the remaining lemon that was zested. Add the chicken stock and brown sugar to the juice, stirring until the sugar dissolves. After 20 minutes of baking, top the chicken with the lemon-sugar mixture. Bake an additional 30-40 minutes or until the chicken tests done (180 degrees on a meat thermometer). Baste with the pan juices halfway through cooking time. Remove from the oven, and serve, or cool and refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve, up to two days.

Serves four.

@Recipe nutrition:Nutrition values per serving: 304 calories (31 percent from fat), 11 g fat (2 g saturated), 23.5 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 30 g protein, 77 mg cholesterol, 369 mg sodium.

Adapted from “The Silver Palate Cookbook” (Workman, 1981)