Greek style lemon and mustard chicken

This is one of my favourite recipes, a variation on a traditional Greek recipe. You'll need;

And to the supermarket you shall go.

1 chicken - well, I guess that makes sense.

2 a kilo or two of potatoes. You need to very exact in your measurements.

3 a cup of olive oil. Extra virgin from the northern olive groves of Mt Parnatha. Alternatively, anything from the local supermarket that doesn't taste like it came from a refinery.

4 one lemon

5 a large onion

6 a cup of long grain rice

7 pinch of salt, pepper and a couple of teaspoons of cumin and mustard.

The fun starts here.

1 Chop the onion and heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a frying pan,

2 Gently fry the onion until it starts to soften then add the cumin. Continue to cook for a couple of minutes then add the rice.

3 After a few minutes add a cup of water and turn up the heat.

4 Cook some more (without covering the pan) until most of the water has been absorbed.

5 In the meantime peel the potatoes.




6 To make the dressing mix the reminder of the olive oil, salt, pepper and mustard. Add the lemon juice and two cups of water and whisk until they are blended.

7 Use the rice mixture to stuff the chicken.

8 Place the chicken and potatoes in a "gastra" (a covered oven dice, widely used in Greek cooking) or you could you a Pyrex dish instead. Pour the lemon, mustard and oil over the chicken and potatoes.

9 Place in an oven at about 180c (43,000 f) for about two and half hours. Just keep an eye on it now and then and add more water if necessary.

Me and Lydia made this today and it was delicious. I know this isn't strictly a Greek recipe but it has all the elements of Greek cuisine, at least here in the north, which uses more spices than its southern counterparts.