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Persian Lemon Saffron Chicken
Main meal

Persian Lemon Saffron Chicken

4.3 / 5 from 3 reviews

Serves: about 4 people. Portion size: about 350g per person. Country of origin: Iran. Features fresh lemon zest and/or juice. Nutrition values are recipe-development estimates per 100g and per saved portion; actual values vary by brands, cooking yield and serving size.

Main mealbarberriesiranlemonpersiansaffron chickenDairy freeEgg freeGluten freeNut free

Free from

Dairy freeEgg freeGluten freeNut free

Known allergens

Tree nuts

Estimated Nutrition (per 100g finished recipe)

Calories
157 kcal
Protein
12.5 g
Carbohydrate
18 g
of which sugars
4.4 g
Fat
5.2 g
of which saturates
1.1 g
Fibre
1.5 g
Salt
0.55 g

Ingredients

  • 650g skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 lemons, zest and 70ml juice
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1/4 tsp saffron threads
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 250ml chicken stock
  • 60g dried barberries
  • 300g cooked basmati rice
  • 30g pistachios, chopped

Method

Bloom saffron in 2 tablespoons of hot water.

Brown the chicken in olive oil, remove, then soften the onion.

Add garlic, turmeric and lemon zest, then return the chicken with stock and saffron water.

Cover and simmer for 25 minutes; add barberries for the final 5 minutes.

Stir in lemon juice and serve with rice and pistachios.

Reviews

4 / 5

My first attempt at Persian Lemon Saffron Chicken was a success, with one small note for next time. I added the lemon juice off the heat and the finished sauce stayed fresh-tasting.

Sarah Goodall
4 / 5

I enjoyed making Persian Lemon Saffron Chicken and the instructions behaved exactly as promised. Blooming the saffron first made the colour and fragrance noticeably more even.

steve4
5 / 5

Persian Lemon Saffron Chicken earned a permanent place in my recipe folder. Lemon and tart barberries balanced the saffron chicken beautifully without competing with it.

Steve Allanson