Lemon Eggplant (or Chicken) and Rice
You can use either eggplant or chicken for this dish making it a perfect choice when you’re serving a crowd with dietary restrictions; you could even use gluten-free flour and soy sauce if necessary. It’s full of flavor thanks to the lemon, Italian dressing and soy sauce marinade. Serve it over rice and call it dinner.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
Eggplant/chicken
- cooking spray (extra virgin olive oil or canola oil)
- 1 large eggplant or 2 chicken breast fillets, cut into bite sized pieces
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Sauce
- 1/3 cup of soy sauce (I like to mix regular and low sodium)
- ½ cup Italian dressing
- 2 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Rice
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 2 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
- salt and pepper to taste
- small handful parsley, stems removed, finely chopped (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425. Grease a rimmed baking sheet or casserole dish with cooking spray.
- To make the eggplant/chicken: In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper. Toss the eggplant/chicken pieces in the seasoned flour (working in batches). Using a slotted spoon, shake off the excess flour and transfer to prepared baking sheet or casserole dish. Coat the top of each piece with cooking spray, then bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and pour the chilled sauce over eggplant/chicken, tossing gently so that the pieces are evenly coated. Lower the temperature of the oven to 200F and bake for another 30 minutes, until the chicken, if using, is cooked through but still tender (the eggplant will be done).
- To make the sauce (I make this right after I put the eggplant/chicken in the oven): Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
- To make the rice (I make this after I’ve lowered the oven temperature): Warm oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes), stirring often. Add rice and stir to coat. Pour in the broth, raise heat to bring to a boil then cover and simmer on low heat for about 18-20 minutes, until the broth has been absorbed. Fluff rice with fork and season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon eggplant/chicken over the rice and top with any extra juices. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
If you’re doubling the recipe (it serves two as written), you should be fine just upping the sauce by 1.5.