Dinner 1 April 2020 Provencal Chicken Breasts, Asparagus.

This is a recipe I came across long ago in Cooking Light and have been making a variation of with Pepper Coast Products. The original calls for herbes de Provence. We have a blend we are working on but, sorry, we have not put that one on the market. However Finessence makes a mighty good Mediterranean seasoning that that you can get from us.

Start with 4 medium chicken breasts, if you can find them. I was lucky this time and was able to get Bell & Evans breasts that were 6 1/2 oz. Often they tend to run much larger, around 9-10 oz. You might want to consider cutting those larger ones in half horizontally. You can pound them a bit to make them more equal thickness but this is optional. Season with Diamond kosher salt and a generous coat of Finessence. You be the judge of how much, but the heat in Finessence is restrained so most people will find it tolerable.

Cook the beasts in a large skillet in oil for about 6 minutes a side and remove to a plate to keep warm.

Next make a sauce in the pan. Add some minced garlic, cook briefly then add about a cup of chicken broth and some more Finessence and loosen up the brown bits on the skillet. Cook until the mixture is reduced by about a half. Then remove from heat and stir in some unsalted butter and lemon juice.

Serve sauce over chicken and garnish with thyme sprigs. (I did not have any fresh thyme this night so used a bit of dry. )

This night I has some nice looking fat asparagus. I have come to prefer the fat ones, they cook nicely with lots of flavor. My simple method is to remove a bit off the butt, I still snap them, then wash and placed in a large non-stick skillet. Sprinkle with Diamond kosher salt, add a good splash of good extra-virgin olive oil and some balsamic vinegar and then turn the heat on.

I keep an eye on the while cooking the chicken and keep their butts to the fire so to speak to keep them cooking evenly. That is I move the butts toward the center of the pan and slide the pan off center. When done I toss some lemon zest curls over them, a bit of lemon juice and some Maldon Flake salt.

Plate up and time for dinner!

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