Thursday, November 25, 2010

Pan Roasted Chicken Breast With Braised Lentils And Spinach




Day 6 of our carbless diet - It is a bit of a struggle for me to come up with something exciting and delicious that will enable us to go on with the difficult business of diet. Apart from looking up the hundreds of cookbooks and magazines we have on the shelves, other blogs are also a good source of inspirations. This is a dish I remembered having a few years back at a restaurant in Sydney, it could also be in Brisbane? I am of course missing Asian food that comes with rice or noodles but I think I am doing fine without starch so far. 



serves 2
pre-heated oven at 180 C 
you'll need;
2 free range chicken breasts (I bought a whole chicken and filleted it myself)
a few sprigs of thyme
3 cloves of garlic, bashed
juice of half a lemon
a drizzle of olive oil
grated rind of one lemon
2 knobs of butter
250 g of puy lentil*
2 shallots, chopped
a large handful of baby spinach
100 ml of chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
* Rinse the lentil a few times to get rid of any stones or impurities. Place lentil in a pot, cover with water and simmer til tender (about 20 minutes). Drain well and set aside.



I filleted the chicken breasts myself, saving the other bits for later use. I also left the little wing bones attached to the breasts (supreme cut) for the "restaurant" look.



Marinate the chicken breasts for at least 20 minutes with garlic, lemon rind, lemon juice, olive oil, thyme and season well.



Pan fry the chicken breasts skin side down for 2 minutes and turn over and cook for a further 2 minutes. Place some butter over the chicken and sprinkle with extra thyme, finish in the pre-heated oven for 8 to 10 minutes depending on the size of the breasts. 



Rest the chicken breasts in a warm place while preparing the lentil and spinach.



Saute chopped shallots in the same pan and scrap off as much sticky bits as you can. Cook til shallots are  translucent.



Add lentil and mix well and when the lentils are hot enough add in the baby spinach and chicken stock. Cook til the greens are wilted. Season well with salt and pepper.



Serve the chicken breast with some of the lentils and spinach.

15 comments:

  1. I want that roasted chicken!!! Can I exchange with my ayam goreng kunyit? Hahaha!!! :D

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  2. Tummy dear,wah bagus ya diet hampir berjaya tapi kacang tu nampak seperti kacang hijau bukan lentils@parpu,mungkin Makcik tak pernah lihat parpu yang begini.Satu lagi resepi yang menarik:)

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  3. Harriet from carltonNovember 25, 2010 at 3:52 PM

    Wow you boys are on a roll here. This looks like a restaurant dish indeed!

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  4. Hey buddy I am really proud of your determination. Best of all your dishes are all so inviting!

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  5. You're doing so well! I admit I've only tried to diet once, and it lasted one whole day. One completely miserable day :) If you'd cooked for me, I reckon I would have lasted longer he he he

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  6. Diet, what diet? All your dishes so far are looking amazing, see any result yet? lol

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  7. diet on protein? sounds like the perfect diet plan especially with this kind of delicious looking food!...though I would miss my bake staff.

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  8. Yummy is just the word! Don't mind this type of diet dish!

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  9. This looks like a restaurant meal indeed. Great knife skill btw!

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  10. Lovely and simple, there's a real Italian feel to this dish, letting the flavours speak for themselves without too much messing. I like the idea of pan-to-oven chicken breast, I've never done it quite that way before, and it works brilliantly with pork chops as well.

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  11. Looking at all your fabulous carbless dishes I am tempted to start the same diet too!

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  12. What a mouthwatering pan roasted chicken!

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  13. this looks fab and the lentils are a healthy way to fill full

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  14. Guess what I'm having for dinner? This!

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