Oregano and lemon chicken in the pot

Easy recipe for all seasons with simple ingredients but with a great taste! A classic way of cooking chicken in the pot in Greece giving you the opportunity to accompany it with side dishes like rice pilaf, mashed potatoes or fries. One of my favourite "mum's" kind of dishes with the aroma of my favourite herb: oregano

Adapted from a recipe of Argyro Barbarigou,
a prominent Head Cook in Greece
Check out her great site Argiro for more recipes

Ingredients (for 6 people):
1 ½Kg of chicken, cut in 6 portions
2 large cloves of garlic, cut in quarters
1 large yellow onion, grated (optional -my addition)
1/3 tea-cup of olive oil
2 large lemons, the juice
1 glass of white dry wine
1 tbsp of dried oregano
1 bay leaf (optional -my addition)
salt
pepper

Method:
Warm the olive oil in a spacious pot on medium-high heat and sauté the chicken with the onion and the garlic for about 7-8 minutes or until the meat is nicely coloured on all sides.

Pour over with the lemon juice and the wine and leave for a couple of minutes allowing the alcohol to evaporate. Add the bay leaf, 1 tea-cup of water and stir.

When the food comes to the boil, cover with the lid and turn the heat down to medium-low. Simmer the chicken for 1h 15min. or until the chicken is tender. Halfway through cooking, season with salt and pepper.

About 5-8 minutes before the end of cooking add the oregano and continue cooking. *** Don't add the oregano from the beginning because it tends to become bitter.

The food should be left only with a nice thick-ish sauce.