Monday, March 23, 2015

One Pan Chicken Breast Dinner




Where is the quinoa, please? I'm certain I bought it but I don't see it anywhere. Don't you hate it when that happens? So the interesting quinoa recipe that I found will have to be another week. In the meantime, I tried this one pan dinner by Jaime Oliver.

I have to admit that this is the way I like to eat. Quick, easy, fresh ingredients with a simple sauce. Elegant in its simplicity, colorful, and even healthy. I was drawn in originally because of the way he cut the chicken breast. Instead of pounding it (which I never like to do), he makes two slices in the thick portion so that it cooks as fast as the thinner end. I never saw anyone do that before and had to try.

My concern was that it would be easy to overcook the chicken. Chicken breasts are a staple in my life so I know there's nothing worse than dried out chicken. It turned out fine but don't walk away and ignore it. The chicken cooks quickly. I suspect I didn't have the heat up quite high enough. Start at medium high and turn it down if necessary.

I used thin stalks of asparagus. If you find that your asparagus isn't cooked enough for your taste, remove the chicken to a plate when it's done and let the asparagus cook a few minutes more.

There's bacon in the recipe, which was interesting to me. You're supposed to place a piece of raw bacon over each piece of chicken after it's browned. Now, I happened to have leftover bacon, so I cheated a little and used two slightly undercooked pieces. I also added a teaspoon of bacon grease to make up for the loss of that flavor. In the end, my bacon just became soft. So the raw bacon would probably fare better.

The recipe also calls for basil leaves. It's not quite that season here yet, so I substituted a fine herb blend. Remember to watch the chicken so it doesn't dry out. Oh, and we're carb people so I served it with rice.


One Pan Chicken Breast Dinner
by Jaime Oliver

olive oil
2 chicken breasts
salt and pepper
2 slices raw bacon
asparagus (two handfuls)
16 cherry tomatoes
12 Kalamata olives
a few basil leaves or 1/2 teaspoon of fine herbs
1/4 cup white wine
1 tablespoon butter

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan at medium high. Slice the thick ends of the chicken breasts into three roughly equal pieces so they will cook as fast as the thin ends. Salt and pepper the meat. Brown on one side, 2-3 minutes.

Flip the chicken breasts with tongs and lay the raw bacon on top of the breasts. Add the asparagus, tomatoes, herbs, and olives. When the bottom side is browned, flip the breasts again so that the bacon is underneath the chicken breasts. The bacon should crisp up. Flip again, moving the veggies around so that they cook.

Pour the white wine in the pan, scraping up any bits of bacon. Remove from heat and place the chicken on plates. Add the butter and swirl the pan to incorporate it into the sauce. Plate the veggies and pour the sauce over top of the chicken.

Slice the thick ends into three equal parts so they cook as fast as the thin part!

After browning, place raw bacon on top of the chicken. (Mine was cooked.)

Add the asparagus, olives, tomatoes, and herbs and . . .

. . . flip the chicken so the bacon crisps underneath it.

Flip back and add white wine.

Drizzle with the sauce.

So colorful!

14 comments:

  1. This looks delicious and I love the use of asparagus in the dish.

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  2. It makes a very nice presentation, Mason, because it's so colorful. I loved the olives, too!

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  3. This is such a great and easy meal for one or two, and chicken is a wonderful way to eat healthy. We're adding this to our recipe collection. Thanks, Krista.

    ~ Cleo

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  4. Anything that says one pan has my vote! This looks delicious. What I do is slice the chicken in half horizontally--one breast is enough for the two of us although if you buy organic or free range chicken, the breasts do tend to be smaller and just right for one person.

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    1. I try to buy the smallest chicken breasts I can but they're hard to find! I feel like you, Peg, one pan is always a super idea!

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  5. Simple, pretty, and tasty.
    What more could we ask?

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    1. By the way--beautiful job of plating the food. Very prettily done.

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    2. Thanks, Libby! I think it would have been just as pretty if I had dumped everything. The colors are just so fresh and bright.

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  6. I love quick, easy and simple too. But, presentation is important and this dish has it all. Kalamata olives are a favorite and always in my fridge. I have to admit I cheat a bit when I buy chicken breast; I have the guys at in the meat department fillet them for me. :)
    But this is a definit "must try!" Thanks for passing it along.

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  7. lovely like this post . I have tried to make it in my favorable kitchen . it is a delicious recipe . to make it ,induction cookware may be used .

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