During my childhood, I was quite the
fussy eater and for my mother, it was a task to feed me. Now I am a complete convert. Not only do I love eating, but I also love
cooking, feeding, and sharing too. What is after all the point of cooking, if
you don’t share.
My love for food can be attributed
to two books, well, actually a book and a short story. One is a short story by
Guy de Maupassant, where the author gave such a vivid description of various
kinds of birds roasting in a spit in a crowded market place that my mind did not
just churn up the imagery of the description, but I could almost taste the food
in my mouth. And another was a scene from Mario Puzo's Godfather, where a
Sicilian kitchen scene was described vividly. There was the description of the
aroma of garlic and pepper frying in olive oil and the scent wafted right from
the book and hit my nostrils. I was around fourteen or fifteen when I read
Maupassant and around sixteen when I read Puzo's Godfather. That was the start
of a love affair with food. Needless to say, I fell in love with the kind of
food described in books by European authors. So, I also cook and enjoy eating
more of this particular cuisine.
Taking inspiration from these two books and using easily available pantry staples, I have tried to recreate a grilled
chicken recipe with quite a bit of garlic, some pepper, and olive oil. I served the chicken with a side of Golden Roasted Potatoes and Creamy Mashed Beetroot. (I will make an additional post for the sides, but for today try the main dish).
Try it out and you will not regret it.
Try it out and you will not regret it.
To start off, take a boneless breast
whole.
Cut and trim all the extra fat, and
then butterfly it.
Using a meat mallet, pound it into
similar thickness throughout the piece.
Ingredients (Serves 2):
2 piece of chicken breast (cleaned,
butterflied and pounded)
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
A few strands of fresh herbs (I had
thyme and a sprig of rosemary)
Salt, to taste
1 tsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil (plus more if
required)
10-12 pods of garlic
4 pods of crushed garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup chicken broth (optional)
½ tsp cornflour
Method:
- Rub salt, pepper, thyme (or any other fresh herbs), and crushed garlic on both sides of the chicken breast. Let it marinate for about 20 minutes, meanwhile, you can work on your choice of sides.
- Heat a grill pan on the gas, put olive oil, and then add the butter. Add the garlic and fresh herbs on the side so that the flavor is released in the oil. Then add one of the chicken breasts. Lower the flame and let it cook covered for about 3-4 minutes on one side before turning over to the other side. You can cook a bit longer if you want. Cook on the other side again for about 3-4 minutes. You will notice a nice golden color (ridged lines, if using a grill pan) on the chicken. Since these are thin breasts the chicken should be done in about 8 minutes apiece. Also, keep turning the garlic on the sides, and remove when done and keep aside.
- There might be some scraps of the chicken on the grill pan, one need not remove it before adding the second piece. Follow the same procedure.
- Once done, there will be a little oil and scraps left on the pan. Put a tsp of cornflour on the pan and scrape out the bottom of the pan.
- Mix the lemon juice and chicken broth (if using, else use about one-fourth cup of water).
- Add it to the cornflour, you will get a thick sauce. Consistency can be thickened or thinned by adding water/broth as desired.
- Pour the sauce atop the grilled chicken and relish it with sides of your choice. Don't forget to add the additional garnish of roasted garlic that was kept aside.
Get the recipe for Golden Roasted Potatoes here
Recipe for Creamy Mashed Beetroot here
** Follow me on Instagram @thelazycookmanual
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