Sautéed Chicken With Meyer Lemon

Instead of letting the age-old combination of salt and time tame the bitterness of lemon pith, heat and sugar speed the process along here, pickling the citrus in minutes. Just blanch a thinly sliced lemon to remove some of its bite, then simmer it again in a pot of heavily sugared and salted water. You’ll end up with lemon slivers that are at once salty, sweet, sour and bitter — and far more interesting than they should be given the amount of work that went into them. They get even better when you fry them in oil, letting their flavors caramelize and turn honeyed. This technique works particularly well with Meyer lemons but regular lemons can work, too. If you use this substitution, blanch them in plain water twice before simmering them in the sugar-salt mixture.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons minced rosemary
• Kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 ½ Meyer lemons
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 leeks, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

    357 calories; 17 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 34 grams protein; 159 milligrams cholesterol; 505 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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4 to 6 servings

Preparation

1. Toss the chicken with 1 tablespoon oil, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper.
2. Trim the ends from 1 lemon, quarter lengthwise and remove the seeds. Slice quarters crosswise into 1/8-inch slices.
3. Bring a small pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the lemon slices, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain under cold running water. Rinse out the pot and refill it with 1 cup water, the sugar and 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil. Drop in the blanched lemon slices and simmer for 3 minutes. Drain under cold running water, pat dry.
4. Heat a skillet over high heat for 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons oil. It should start to shimmer immediately; add the lemon slices and stir-fry quickly until golden. Stir in the leeks and reduce heat to medium-high. Cook until leeks are soft and golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute. Push the leek mixture to one side of the skillet; stir in the chicken mixture and sear, without moving, about 4 minutes. Mix in the leeks and continue cooking until the chicken is no longer pink, about 3 to 6 minutes more. Drizzle with juice from the remaining lemon half, to taste.

About 30 minutes