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New Ways With Chicken: Three Easy Recipes To Make Chicken Breast More Interesting

If chicken breast is your dinner fall back, it's time to spice it up a bit (and we don't mean with chillies) - here are some new recipes to reignite your passion for chicken tonight

Chicken breasts are one of the most popular cuts of meat. But it’s easy to get stuck in a rut with them. They’re also easily overcooked, making them tough and dry.

So, you want some new (easy) ideas for succulent chicken breast? Here you go…

Roast them: Citrus Spanish Style Chicken

Spanish Chicken (Jo Romero)
Spanish Chicken (Jo Romero)

This dish is really easy to make, and as long as you have a few spices in your cupboard, probably won’t involve much special shopping for ingredients.

It’s spicy and smoky, thanks to the pimentón and the orange juice helps keep the chicken breasts moist and tender. If you don’t have pimentón you could use chilli powder instead. Serves 2-3

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
quarter teaspoon garlic salt
half teaspoon dried oregano
quarter teaspoon dried parsley
quarter teaspoon hot pimentón
juice of 1 orange
2 chicken breasts, skin-on, boneless

Method
Heat the oven up to gas mark 6/200ºC. Drizzle the olive oil into a small, shallow roasting dish. In a small bowl, mix together the garlic salt, oregano, parsley and pimentón. Squeeze the orange juice of the base of the dish and sprinkle in a pinch of the spice mixture. Lay the chicken breasts onto the dish, skin-side up.

Take a paper kitchen towel and gently pat the chicken skin, so that it’s dry. Throw away the chicken towel.

Sprinkle the rest of the spice over the chicken. Add the two now empty orange halves to the dish and slide into the oven to roast for 15 minutes.

Cut into the chicken to make sure that it’s fully cooked through and no pinkness remains. If it does, slide it back in for another 5 minutes and check again. Once the chicken is cooked all the way through, leave it to rest for 5 minutes and then slice it and serve. Lovely with a fresh salad or chips.

Stuff them: Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Garlic and Herb Butter

Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Garlic and Herb Butter
Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Garlic and Herb Butter


Prosciutto is easier to wrap around chicken than bacon - bacon has a tendency to curl up and shrink, while prosciutto usually stays put and turns deliciously crisp in the oven. It also has a richer, deeper flavour. The chicken is stuffed with garlic butter too, which melts as the chicken cooks, keeping the inside moist while the prosciutto protects the meat from the outside heat. Serves 2-3.

Ingredients
40g salted butter
small handful fresh parsley, chopped finely
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped finely (or grated if you prefer)
4 slices of prosciutto or Parma Ham
2 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1 tsp cooking oil

Method
Get the oven on to gas mark 6/200ºC. First, beat together the butter, parsley and garlic until soft and smooth. Set to one side.

Put the chicken breasts on a clean board or plate and slice a sharp knife carefully along the length of the breast - making a pocket - but don’t cut all the way through. Put down the knife and push the butter into each pocket, until it’s used up. Wrap the prosciutto slices around the stuffed chicken breasts, trying to get the ends of the slices of ham all underneath the chicken.

Heat the oil in a frying pan or griddle and cook the chicken breasts, on a medium heat, for about 2 minutes per side - enough to seal the ham and start to turn it golden. Turn off the heat on the hob. Lift the chicken out into a small roasting dish and slide into the oven, cooking it for 15 minutes or until cooked all the way through (cut into one of the breasts to make sure). If your chicken breasts are much thinner they’ll probably only need 10 minutes in the oven.

Take the chicken out of the oven, sizzling and crisp, and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot, with with a salad or mashed potato and greens.



Turn them into nuggets: Cheese and Herb Chicken Nuggets

Cheese and Herb Chicken Nuggets
Cheese and Herb Chicken Nuggets


These home made nuggets are easy on the wallet and on your time, too. They take just a few minutes to make and fry. And one chicken breast will feed two of you, giving you five or six nuggets each. Who needs processed chicken nuggets, anyway? Serves 2.

Ingredients
1 chicken breast, skinless and boneless
80g Panko breadcrumbs
1 egg
half teaspoon dried or fresh parsley (if it’s fresh, finely chopped)
quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 tablespoon finely grated Parmesan cheese
2-3 tsp cooking oil, for frying

Method
Chop the chicken into approx 3cm pieces and put to one side. You should end up with around 10-12 pieces. Wash your hands.

Get out two medium-sized bowls. In one, crack in an egg and beat it with a fork until just smooth. In the other, pour in the Panko breadcrumbs. Add the parsley, paprika and Parmesan to the breadcrumbs and stir well.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. To make up the nuggets, dip each cube first into the beaten egg and then into the seasoned breadcrumbs. Drop the breaded piece of chicken into the hot oil, and repeat until all the chicken, egg and breadcrumbs are used up.

Fry the nuggets in batches, on a medium heat for approximately 3-4 minutes per side, until the chicken is cooked through (cut into one to check for sure) and the breadcrumbs are golden. Drain on kitchen paper and serve while hot.

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