The Can't Cook Book: Recipes for the Absolutely Terrified! (17 page)

7.
 
Place
the peas in a strainer and
pass
under warm running water.
Stir
the peas into the rice and
cook
until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.
Cut
the lemon into quarters and
serve
with the chicken and rice for squeezing over the top.

Prep.

Set timer.

Walk away.

ROSEMARY CHICKEN UNDER A “BRICK”

ACTUAL WORK TIME:
5 minutes |
TOTAL TIME:
20 minutes |
SERVES:
4

This is my family’s absolute favorite meal. It can be a bit messy on the stove, but is well worth it, I promise.

Don’t Panic:
You only need to have the patience to wait for the browning and crisping that occurs.

1.
 
Wash
the chicken and
pat dry
with paper towels.
Measure
¹
/
₂
tsp. of the salt, then
pinch
and
sprinkle
over the tops. Then
season
the tops with
¹
/
₄
tsp. of the pepper (about 12 turns on a pepper mill).
Turn
the chicken over and
season
the same way with the remaining
¹
/
₂
tsp. salt and
¹
/
₄
tsp. pepper.
Wash
and dry the rosemary sprigs.

2.
 
Place
your large skillet on the stove and
turn
the heat to medium-high.
Measure
and
pour
in the oil and
heat
until it shimmers (1 to 2 minutes). Using tongs,
place
all of the chicken skin side down in the skillet.
Pull
the rosemary leaves from their sprigs and
sprinkle
over the chicken
.
Place
another skillet on top of the chicken and
weight
it down with something heavy (like a large can of tomatoes or perhaps you have a brick lying around your kitchen?).
.
Set
the timer for 10 minutes.

3.
 
Lay
out a few paper towels on your counter. After 10 minutes,
lift
the weighted skillet off the chicken (onto the paper towels) so you can
check
if the chicken skin is a deep golden brown. It may need to cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Once the skin looks nice and brown,
flip
the chicken over. Again,
weight
it down with the skillet and continue to
cook
until cooked through (you can cut into a piece to make sure it’s no longer pink), 3 to 5 minutes more.