Pan Roasted Chicken
Tonight I went back to the basics for dinner :
pan roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and thyme butter sauce
This is one of those dinners that you can whip up with just a few ingredients that most of you probably already have on hand at home.
Pan Roasted Chicken
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 skin-on chicken breasts
Salt
Pepper
Canola Oil
Method
1. heat oven to 350 degrees
2. heat 2 tablespoons of oil in saute pan until very hot but not smoking
3. dry breasts with paper towel and season with salt and pepper
4. place breasts skin-side down in pan and sear for 5-6 minutes until golden brown and delicious
5. flip breasts and move pan into oven for 15 min or so (you want temp of chicken to be 165 and juices should be running clear)
Mashed Potatoes
Serves 2
Ingredients
3 russet potatoes (any starchy potatoes will work)
1/4 c unsalted butter
1/2 c whole milk
salt
white pepper
Method
1. rinse and peel potatoes
2. cut into consistent-sized chunks and place in pot
3. fill pot with cold water and add salt until water tastes "like the sea"
4. bring to boil and cook potatoes for 15-20 min or until fork tender
5. drain water from pot
6. add butter and milk to potatoes (if you can, heat the milk a bit first)
7. mash up but don't over mix
8. add salt and white pepper to taste
Thyme Butter Sauce
Serves 2
Ingredients
1/2 c dry white wine
1/4 c chicken stock
6-7 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 lemon
1/4 c unsalted butter, cubed, cold
Pan drippings from roasted chicken
Method
Once your chicken is done in the oven, remove the breasts from pan and let them rest for half of their total cooking time (about 10 min) while you make the sauce.
1. skim oil off top of pan drippings
2. add white wine and chicken stock to pan and deglaze
3. toss in fresh thyme and squeeze in juice of half a lemon
4. reduce liquid by half
5. strain sauce through china cap or other fine mesh strainer
6. put strained sauce back in saucepan and add butter
7. serve immediately with chicken and mashed potatoes
Sarah Simms