By now you might have figured that I'm very into wrapping chicken breasts in other flavours.
Sounding just as much like a cheap adult movie, there's nothing like liberal amounts of cream to transform an easy workaday meal into something a little more memorable.
This recipe requires under 30mins cooking and very little preparation. It's the perfect lift from mid-week culinary boredom. Furthermore, it comes with other lower-carb (if not lower fat) benefits. This recipe serves two to three diners,
Shopping list
Large skinless chicken breasts; 1 per diner
Jamón Serrano, roughly two thin slices per diner
1 large butternut squash; scrubbed skin and cut into chunky segments of 5 to 6cm. You'll use between half and a third of this super vegetable, depending on diners
2 cloves of garlic; crushed or finely grated
A generous clutch of parsley, very finely chopped
Extra virgin oil; rather little, in fact
2 echalion shallots; very finely chopped
Green asparagus spears; four or five per diner unless you prefer more
1 lemon; zest and juice
A few sprigs of rosemary
1 cup of Puy lentils; dried. I utterly recommend using the dried sort. I've tried this dish with the "gourmet" ready-in-a-bag version. Those in supermarkets (in the UK at least) are grossly overcooked; not understanding the unique beauty of this pulse at all
A dash of white wine (about ½ a glass if you want to get quantitative)
The better part of of 300ml of single cream
1 vegetable stock cube; or "jelly"
Cooking method
This one is largely a "no brainer" dish, but it does call for a little "multitasking" to get the timing right. Start by pre-heating the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6
the butternut squash
The dish works best with a relatively fresh butternut squash. Scrub the skin clean under a cold tap using a hard-bristle brush. Cut into large 5 to 6cm chunks, leaving the skin on. Arrange on a non-stick baking pan, first turning the facet with the most skin upwards. Paint on a little olive oil using a pastry brush. Season with a little freshly ground salt and black pepper.
When the oven is heated, place the sprigs of rosemary (or tarragon) on top of the squash and bake towards the top of the oven
Turn occasionally, basting the "dried" sides with a little olive oil. Don't be scared of the edges blackening and caramelising—you'll appreciate it in the eating
When it's near to cooked, you may need to swap places in the oven with the chicken
the chicken
On a chopping board for meat/poultry, lay out the jamón serrano, roughly two slices side-by-side. Onto these, place the chicken breasts; diagonally
Sprinkle each breast with a little of the chopped parsley and lemon zest. Then roughly "wrap" the jamón over the chicken breasts. Baste with a little olive oil and finally sprinkle with a small amount of the diced shallots
Bake in the middle of the pre-heated oven. You may need to swap its position with the butternut squash to achieve the necessary crispness of the ham towards the end of the cooking. Yeah, this actually calls for a little intuition
the Puy lentils
Wash the dried lentils under a cold tap and drain. Empty 1 cup of the lentils into a pot with a lid. Add water to barely cover them (usually 1cup). To this add salt. I thoroughly recommend "sal saveur—piment d'Espelette". My sister-in-law Patricia gave me some some years ago that I'm still using. It is excellent. But, note that it is perhaps "more salty" than rock salt
Chop a couple large slices of the lemon, skin and pith included, already used in the dish and place in the water. Place a vegetable stock cube or "jelly" into the pot
Boil furiously for 5 or so minutes stirring initially. Cover, reduce the heat and allow the liquid to boil off, keeping an eye on it and making sure it does not stick. Add small increments of water if needed. The lentils should be al dente: totally cooked but still with that resistance to bite. If you don't get that, you've missed out on their raison d'être (much like the UK supermarkets peddling their "gourmet readymade" version)
the asparagus
Yes, you all know how much I love microwave steamers. I recommend trimming them and doing it that way, 3 to 4mins tops. But, if you must, steam them old-school instead, time them to be ready for plating
the sauce
The final excitement. Obviously, time it taking into account the rest is cooking; about10 to 15mins
Add a little olive oil to a saucepan on a high heat. When hot, add the shallots, the grated garlic and the zest of the lemon. Sweat them, stirring constantly
When the shallots brown, add the white wine, stirring until the alcohol cooks off
Add the cream, about half of it at first. Chuck in the chopped parsley, stirring constantly, allowing it to thicken and reduce
Slowly add the rest of the parsley and cream, until it all reduces, adding the lemon juice as it thickens. Season with a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper
the final stretch
Plate the chicken, asparagus and roasted butternut squash
Dress with the sauce or serve it at the table in a sauce dish
Serve the Puy lentils as a side dish
Pairings
Yep, I had it with Cepa Lebrel Blanco 2019 Rioja from Lidl, a perfectly competent quotidian Spanish white that connects with the serrano ham. But you-know-who can fill us in on better options...
Comments