Lemon Chicken with Hilopites

Serves 6 · 25′ prep, 50′ cooking. A Sunday pot dish: the chicken browns, then braises in lemon, wine, honey, and herbs, and the hilopites finish in that sauce so they drink it up. Pull the pasta off the boil a minute or two early — it keeps cooking in the pot.

Ingredients

• 1 chicken
• 350 g hilopites (square egg noodles)
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pinch oregano
• 100 g white wine
• Lemon juice
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 1 tbsp rosemary
• 500 g water
• 1 tbsp honey
• Salt and pepper
• Feta, freshly ground pepper, olive oil, and chopped thyme, to serve

Preparation

1. Wash and peel the carrot and cut it into small cubes.
2. Peel the onion and garlic; chop the onion roughly and mince the garlic.
3. Put the chicken in a bowl and season it with the olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper.
4. Set a shallow pot over medium heat and let it get hot.
5. Lay the chicken in skin side down and brown it for 2–3 minutes a side, until colored.
6. Add the onion, garlic, and carrot, and sauté for 1–2 minutes.
7. Pour in the wine and let the alcohol cook off a little.
8. Add the lemon juice, thyme, rosemary, water, and honey. Put the lid on and bring it up to a boil.
9. Simmer for 30–35 minutes, then take the pot off the heat and set it aside. Start the pasta about 15 minutes before the chicken is done.
10. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat, filled about three-quarters.
11. Salt the water, add the hilopites, and boil them 1–2 minutes short of the time on the packet.
12. Take the pot off the heat and drain the pasta.
13. Lift the chicken out of the sauce with tongs into a bowl and cover it with cling film to keep it warm.
14. Tip the drained hilopites into the pot of sauce, stir, and give them 2–3 minutes to absorb most of the liquid.
15. Off the heat, return the chicken to the pot and fold it through gently.
16. Serve onto plates with crumbled feta, freshly ground pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and chopped thyme.