Attempt #52: Quick crispy chicken with tomatoes & broccolini

Jamie declared that this is really a quick and simple meal to make. I can now attest to that statement as not only it is that simple and quick to make, it is yummy yummy yummy.

Jamie suggested using olives, anchovies or sun-dried tomatoes to add a bit of saltiness and extra flavour.

The Result:

It was indeed a very yummy combination of ingredients but the chicken did not turn out to be ‘crispy’ per se. I used skinless chicken as suggested in the recipe and it got me wondering if one can crisp chicken without skin as this attempt did not give me crispy chicken although it had been sold/mentioned that way in Jaime’s recipe. Hence, I did some research after I attempted this recipe and generally, one got to either dunked skinless chicken in egg mixture, flour it or bread it to get it all crispy. Good learning though! J

And oh yeah, I used anchovies for the saltiness and it works really well.

Method:

Place a large pan on a high heat. Lay your chicken breasts on a board and cut three incisions into each one like fingers, going all the way through the breast but leaving about 1cm joined at the top. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Snap the woody ends off of the asparagus spears. Add a splash of olive oil to the pan, followed by the chicken, pancetta and asparagus. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the chicken and asparagus are cooked through, turning halfway. Lift the pancetta on top of the chicken once golden and crispy.

Move the chicken, bacon or pancetta and asparagus to one side of the pan then throw in the tomatoes, olives, basil leaves and butter. Reduce to a low heat and add a splash of wine to help make a sauce. Leave to bubble away and thicken for a couple of minutes. Use tongs to divide the chicken, bacon or pancetta, asparagus and most of the tomatoes between your plates. Squash the remaining tomatoes, mixing them with the lovely juices in the pan, then drizzle over the chicken before serving.

Serves 2

Ingredients

·         2 x 120 g free-range, skinless chicken breasts

·         sea salt

·         freshly ground black pepper

·         1 bunch of asparagus

·         olive oil

·         4 rashers of higher-welfare pancetta

·         250 g cherry tomatoes, halved

·         5 black olives, destoned

·         a couple of sprigs of fresh basil, leaves picked

·         a small knob of butter

   a splash of white wine