chicken | anél potgieter

My mom, Babs, is in her eighties, extremely healthy and has been a size 10 her whole life. She is one of those “odd” people who does not like butter, cream, fatty foods, deep fried foods, chips and crisps or anything unhealthy and then she also does’nt like too much spices either – not like her not-so-small-foodie-wine-drinking-spice-loving-daughter! Lean proteins, huge salads, vegetables, different kinds of fruit and whole grains are part of her daily regimen – washed down with a cuppa tea or two or ten – and then … always a healthy strong whiskey every single night. I have to admit though that she has been prone to a bit of strong cheese and a dash of olive oil here and there just to keep the body parts in good working order.

So when Babs comes to visit I have to cook something healthy and therefore for our Sunday lunch recently I prepared a chicken breast covered in fresh herbs, some stem broccoli and I served it on parmesan + lemon flavoured pasta. It was delicious, fresh with a light and dreamy springtime flavour… but most importantly … mom approved. Enjoy!

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 30 min

Ingredients

For the chicken
4 Skinless deboned chicken breasts
1T Olive oil
1 Clove garlic – peeled and sliced in 4 slices length ways
2 T Fresh coriander – chopped
2T Fresh parsley – chopped
1T Fresh basil – chopped
1 Lemon
Salt
Black pepper

For the spaghetti
Cook enough spaghetti for 4 people
2T Olive oil
75g Grated parmesan cheese
2T Fresh parsley – chopped
1 Lemon
Salt
Black pepper

For the stem broccoli
4 or more stem broccoli
Salt
Black Pepper
Drizzle of olive oil
Squeeze of lemon juice

Method

Chicken
1. Make small incisions into the chicken breasts and insert a sliver of garlic into each breast.
2. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Mix all chopped herbs together – parsley, coriander and basil.
4. Then press the breasts in the fresh herbs – so that the herbs coat both sides of the chicken breasts.
5. Using a non-stick pan fry the breasts till done – while frying squeeze a bit of lemon over the chicken.
6. When done put aside.

Pasta
7. Add the parmesan, olive oil and lemon in a bowl – mix well and add to the cooked pasta.
8. Then mix the parsley through.
9. Taste the pasta for seasoning – add some more salt and add the black pepper.

Stem broccoli
10. Cook as per packet instructions – normally only 3-4 minutes.
11. Immediately put in a bath of ice water.
12. After a while, warm the broccoli up again in the same pot you have cooked them – add a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

To assemble
13. Place the cooked pasta the bottom of the bowl. Add the stem broccoli and then the chicken breast. To serve, add another drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon and parmesan shavings.

I have been very fortunate to be chosen with my dear friend, Joani to partake in the Western Cape auditions of “The Ultimate Braai Master” competition (ultimatebraaimaster.com). So naturally I will be braaiing a lot more! I have been braaiing since a very young age … growing up with three brothers and a father that thought that going without a braai every couple of days was an insult to ones’ culture and constitution. My dad taught me how to make a fire, how to braai the perfect chops and “wors”, meat and “braaibroodjies”. We braaied a few times a week – sunshine or rain and through the years the braai became a part of my soul. Every time I smell a braai it brings back the fondest childhood memories of my dad. Nowadays I braai every Friday night – without exception. So last Friday I decided to brush up my chicken braaiing skills. I really believe in making your own marinades – I despise the “off the shelf” marinades – I don’t like the taste and you will never find it in my kitchen. I searched for different marinades and got some amazing marinades on Alida Ryder’s blog (simply-delicious.co.za). I love reading her blog – so please do yourself a favour and make time to read some of her recipes.

frankie + robbie helping me with the fire

Below are four of my favourite marinade recipes from Alida’s blog – each one of them is simply delish. I did add some chillies to the Indian and Moroccan recipes. Try it – it’s so easy and very moreish!

All these recipes will yield enough marinade for 1 large chicken – butterflied or cut into pieces. The method for all these marinades are the same, combine the ingredients, pour over the chicken and massage the little bird a bit – marinade for at least 30 minutes (or up to 1 day) before braai-ing.

Moroccan
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
2tsp ground cumin
2tsp ground coriander
2tsp paprika
1tsp ground cinnamon
2tbsn honey
1 tsp salt
1-2 red chillies finely chopped

Greek
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
2tbsn fresh oregano chopped (or 1 tbsn dried oregano)
1tbsn fresh mint, finely chopped (or 1tsp dried)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1tsp salt
Black pepper to taste

Indian
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2tsp crushed ginger
2tbsn garam masala
1tsp ground coriander
1-2 red chillies finely chopped

French Provincial
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 sticks fresh thyme (or 1tbsn dried)
2tsp Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, crushed

anél potgieter

Tag Archives: chicken

herby chicken + stem broccoli + parmesan and lemon pasta = healthy springtime surprise

let’s braai