Smoked Paprika Chicken with Lentils Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients
2 T. olive oil, divided
1/2 t. grated lemon rind
2 T. fresh lemon juice, divided
1 t. salt, divided
1/2 t. Spanish smoked paprka
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper, divided
4 (6-oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 C. plain whole-milk yogurt
3 T. chopped fresh parsley, divided
1 T. chopped fresh mint
1/2 t. ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C. finely chopped seeded cucumber
1 C. dried lentils
2 parsley sprigs
1 (1/2-in thick) slice onion
1 thyme sprig
1 bay leaf
4 very thin slices Serrano ham or prosciutto (about 1 oz)
3/4 C. onion, minced
3 C. thinly sliced zucchini
1 (6-oz) bag pre-washed baby spinach
Directions
Combine 1 T. oil, rind, 1 T. lemon juice, 1/4 t. salt, paprika, and 1/4 t. pepper in a medium bowl.  Add chicken, turn to coat.  Marinate in refrigerator 2 hours.

Combine 1/4 t. salt, yogurt, 1 T. chopped parsley, mint, cumin, and garlic in a food processor; process until smooth.  Place yogurt mixture in a medium bowl; stir in cucumber.  Cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Place lentils, parsley sprigs, onion slice, thyme sprig, and bay leaf in a large saucepan; cover with water to 2 inches above lentils.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until tender.  Drain.  Discard parsley sprigs, onion slice, thyme sprig, and bay leaf.  

While lentils cook, wrap 1 ham slice around each chicken breast.  Place chicken in a 11x7-in baking dish.  Bake at 375 F. for 25 minutes or until done.

While chicken cooks, heat 1 T oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add minced onion; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add zucchini; cook 15 minutes or until zucchini is very tender, stirring occasionally.  Stir in lentils, spinach, 1/2 t. salt, and 1/4 t. pepper; cook 5 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring occasionally.  Stir in 1 T. lemon juice and 2 T. chopped fresh parsley.  Serve chicken over lentil mixture, drizzle with yogurt sauce.

Serving size: 1 chicken breast, 1 C. lentil mixture, 1/3 C. sauce
513 calories, 12.7g fat, 60.1g protein, 41.1g carbs, 17.6g fiber, 908mg sodium

**  Overall chicken alone would be a 4, but the rest was not impressive.
Rating
Tags
Poultry

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