In this skillet Greek chicken, the chicken fat combines with lemon and oregano to roast the celery root (or potatoes) and doubles as a sauce for spinach, making this a true one-pot meal.
Greek Chicken in Skillet with Lemon Oregano
I’m a big fan of lemon chicken (for instance, see my preserved lemon chicken, or my lemon pepper chicken thighs). But this is possibly my favorite lemon chicken dish. It is very tangy because of the lemons, fresh and herby from the oregano, and it works well as a winter or a summer dish.
It is also such a simple thing to make. Nothing has to be prepped in advance (although you could prep the lemon herb dressing in advance if you wanted to speed up kitchen prep).
You basically assemble it, pop it in the oven for an hour, steam some spinach, pop it in the skillet, and the entire meal is done. The most difficult and time-consuming part of this is making the dressing and cutting up the celery root. Which takes maybe 15 minutes or so, and can be done in advance.
Celery Root vs. Potatoes
Traditionally, this type of dish is made with potatoes. But I prefer it with celery root (or celeriac), which is healthier and has a more complex flavor. I am always trying to find new celery root recipes. But if you’re not a fan of celery root (side eye), or you can’t find it at the grocery store, you can easily substitute it with potatoes. If you do substitute, I would use Yukon Gold potatoes.
Flavor
I prefer celery root primarily because of the flavor and texture. It’s sort of like a potato crossed with celery. Whereas potatoes sort of pick up whatever flavor you’re cooking with, celery root carries a slight earthy, celery flavor, but with the texture of a potato (although a bit more firm and not mushy).
Healthy Choice
Celery root also has a lot of fiber and many fewer calories than potatoes. Hooray!
Steamed Spinach
The first few times I made this dish, I noticed that we had some extra sauce. I was drizzling it over the chicken on my plate (mmm) and some got mixed in with my steamed spinach. It was so good! So now I just recommend taking the whole chicken out of the skillet after it’s rested its 10 minutes and mixing the steamed spinach directly into the sauce left behind in the skillet. We put the chicken onto a wooden cutting board, which makes it easier to cut up anyway. Pretty presentation, and all the veggies are in one place and sauced!
The other thing I recommend is something I’ve taken from my Greek herb pie recipe. I’ve noticed that spinach actually tastes really good when you mix a bit of arugula with the spinach. So I like to add in a handful when I’m steaming my spinach for this dish, and I think it makes the flavor much better. It adds a sort of subtle herby spiciness. And it goes great with the lemon oregano sauce.
Now, on to the recipe!
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Greek Chicken in Skillet with Lemon, Spinach & Celery Root
In this skillet Greek chicken, the chicken fat combines with lemon and oregano to roast the celery root (or potatoes) and doubles as a sauce for steamed spinach, making this a true one-pot meal with lemony spinach, roasted celery root (potatoes if you can’t find celery root), and roasted lemon chicken.
Equipment: I recommend a 12-inch cast iron pan.
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
Lemon Herb Sauce
Vegetables
3 large or 5 small celery roots (loosely aiming for about 5 cups of celery root after slicing)
10 ounces spinach (approximately)
2 ounces (one large handful) baby arugula
Chicken
1 chicken (3.5 – 5 lbs) (if you have thighs or breasts instead, I recommend this similar recipe)
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
At the same time, place a large (I use a 12 inch) cast iron skillet inside the oven to preheat. Don’t oil it until after it’s heated up.
2. Prepare the lemon dressing.
Mix the zest of 2 lemons with 1 cup of lemon juice (from approximately 3 lemons). I usually juice the lemons over a strainer to ensure I get no seeds in my sauce and don’t have a meltdown picking seeds out of the bowl.
Save 1/2 of a lemon you squeezed but did not zest for the chicken cavity.
Next, add:
Whisk the dressing together to ensure it is mixed well.
3. Prepare celery root or potatoes.
Wash the celery root (or potatoes), and cut away any gnarly bits of skin / root. I usually do not peel all of the skin off, but you can if you’d prefer (I use a paring knife for this, not a vegetable peeler).
Slice the celery root into rounds about 1/8 of an inch thick. (1/4 inch thick if you’re doing potatoes.) As noted above, you want about 5 cups of sliced celery root.
4. Prepare to bake.
Take the pre-heated cast iron skillet out of the oven. Spray it down with a little olive oil.
Dump the celery root (or potatoes) into the pan, and pour about 2/3 of the dressing over the top of it. Toss the celery root in the pan to coat the celery root in the dressing. Then arrange the celery root in a circle around the outside of the pan, working your way in toward the middle. It doesn’t need to be too neat. Pour 2 cups of chicken broth into the celery root (save the last 1/2 cup for later). You want the broth in the bottom of the pan to help cook the celery root, but you don’t want to wash the dressing off of the celery root when you pour it in, so pour it in carefully.
Place the chicken in the center of the skillet. You want some of the celery root under the chicken, but you also want a good amount exposed to the oven – these are the pieces that will get a bit crisp. Place the lemon half you set aside earlier (that you squeezed out but didn’t zest) inside the chicken cavity.
Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken. If you have a spray olive oil, spray everything down one last time with some olive oil to make sure the tops are protected. Generously sprinkle some salt over the top of the chicken (there is salt in the dressing, but much of it will slide off and go down to the celery root).
5. Bake for 60-75 minutes.
Put the chicken in the oven to bake. If you have convection bake, I recommend using it.
The chicken is done when the deep part of the breast (make sure you don’t push in too deep and temp the cavity by mistake, easy to do with small chickens!) reads 155F. Then take it out of the oven to let it rest for 10 minutes in the skillet.
6. While the chicken rests, prep the steamed spinach.
Take a large frying pan (I like to use a nonstick), and pour in 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Heat over medium heat until the water starts to bubble. Add a handful or two of spinach, letting it rest in the pan for about a minute before you stir to let it wilt. Fold over the wilted spinach and add another handful or two of spinach. Continue until all spinach is wilted. Then add the arugula. Turn off the stove just before wilted and continue to fold over the leaves until wilted.
7. Final assembly.
Remove the chicken from the skillet to a wooden cutting board or serving platter.
Place the spinach into the empty center left by the chicken. (Note: I usually first pour off any broth remaining in the frying pan from wilting the spinach or use tongs to remove the spinach from the frying pan while leaving behind extra broth).
Gently fold the spinach mixture in with the dressing pooled in the center of the skillet.
8. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 70 min
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
