I always have the dilemma of whether to cook with chicken breasts or thighs. Breast meat is better for you as on average it contains about a third of the saturated fat content of thigh meat and a lot more protein. But the problem is it's no way near as tender. In reality I use both depending on what I am cooking. For soups, casseroles, paellas and stir frys I use breast meat as I end up shredding or chopping the chicken making it taste less dry. Thigh meat works better for roast chicken, coq au vin or chicken curry (skin left on for the first two and off for the last). But finally I have found a great way of cooking chicken breast meat that keeps it moist and tender. My inspiration came from a recipe in Stylist magazine a few months back. Of course the end result had a fair few Accidental Cook signature variations! By cooking the chicken in baking paper it locks in the moisture and takes up the flavour of whatever you accompany it with. With this last thought in mind there could be no better pairing than my favourite ingredient, chorizo!
I served this dish with a mixture of sweet potato and regular
potato wedges (another way to hide the sweet potato from N!) and some steamed asparagus.
Chicken and Chorizo Parcels
(serves 2 | total prep and cooking time 35-40 mins)
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breast fillets
- 3 tablespoons chopped chorizo
- 1 tomato - chopped
- 1/2 onion - diced
- 3 cloves garlic - finely chopped
- 2 tablesoons chopped herbs e.g. parsley, thyme or basil
Method
- Preheat the oven to 108 degrees fan
- Heat the oil in a frying pan
- Add the chorizo and fry for a few minutes until the oil starts to release from the chorizo
- Add the tomato, onion and garlic and stir until the chorizo is cooked
- Stir through the herbs
- Place the chicken breast on a piece of baking paper and season
- Spoon over the chorizo mixture
- Wrap the paper into a parcel
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through
Chicken and chorizo - my absolute fav cooking combo! .. it's almost as good as bacon. Sadly, I have to travel quite a ways to get my hands on good quality chorizo these days, it's just not readily available here in the mountains.
ReplyDeleteYou know, even working with weight conscious clients, I'll tend to favor thighs over breasts every time. In the flavor vs fat and protein battle - flavor wins out every time. And to be honest, we're only talking about a slight reduction in protein and only a couple of grams fat difference (around 3 grms each) and I can make those up in other areas of the menu.