I highly recommend using fresh herbs in this dish. They pack so much flavor that I promise you won't regret it!
I swear every time that I go to buy flat leaf parsley... they only have this stuff... the curly kind. Really either would work... I just like the flat leaf kind better. Crazy... no. Picky... yes.
Chop, mince or bludgeon the heck out of it... like so.
Measure out a 1/3 cup of minced parsley and set aside.
Grab some fresh thyme.
STORY: Once, a long, loooong time ago, I put some not so fresh thyme into some soup. I didn't realize it wasn't its freshest until after dinner {and after Pat complained} when I checked the package to make sure I used the right herb, it was then when I saw... umm... gross herbs. I should also mention that I thought it would be a great idea to make chicken noodle soup in a crock pot, which it wasn't. The noodles expanded into huge and super soggy blobs! Totally gross and yet my husband still ate it! I didn't really get cooking then... yeah so that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
So since that horrible soup tasting experience, my husband has sworn up and down that he hates, and I mean HATES thyme... until I made this dish. Using fresh non-expired thyme helps, immensely.
Run your finger along the length of the branch, peeling of the thyme leaves... then just give those a quick chop.
Once the herbs are chopped toss those into a medium bowl.
Peel the rind off of a lemon and slice {carefully} into thin strips.
Add those along with fresh pressed garlic into the same bowl.
Toss together and set aside.
Get a large 12 inch skillet hot with some olive oil in it and season the chicken breast halves {whole breast that have been butterflied all the way through} with kosher salt and black pepper.
Once the oil is hot {really really hot}, sear the chicken on both sides, about 3 minutes a side.
Remove to a plate... but only for a second.
Pour the chicken stock into the pan, it's going to hiss and spit at you, but scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan {that's where the best flavor is at!}
After scraping all the goodies from the bottom of the pan, bring it all to a simmer.
Add 3/4 of the herb and lemon mixture and stir.
Place the chicken halves back into the sauce and turn to coat. Let simmer in the pan sauce and covered for 6 more minutes {or until chicken is no longer pink}.
Serve with leftover herb/lemon mixture as garnish and drizzled with this delicious pan sauce! Maybe serve with this here salad, these potatoes and this bread recipe!
Enjoy!
Seared Chicken Breasts with Lemon Herb Pan Sauce:
{serves 4}
ingredients:
1/3 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon Fresh Thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon Fresh Lemon Peel, sliced into thin strips
2 medium size Garlic Cloves, Pressed {through garlic press} or minced
3-4 tablespoons of Butter
4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast Halves {brought to room temp}
1/4-1/2 cup of good Chicken Stock
preparations:
In a small bowl toss together the chopped parsley, thyme, garlic and sliced lemon peel.
Season the chicken with kosher salt and black pepper.
In a large 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat cook chicken in butter for about 6 minutes or until browned, turning only once in between. Transfer to plate.
Remove the skillet off of the heat; add in the stock and scraping up the brown bits. Add in 3/4 of the lemon/herb mixture. Return back to the heat and bring to a simmer, stirring. Return the chicken back to the skillet, turn to coat, simmer covered for about 6-8 more minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
Serve with pan sauce and garnish with remaining herb/lemon mixture if desired.
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق