Hello again folks. Only two weeks until Valentine’s day and I am busy cooking up romantic meals with which you can surprise your other half with. My other half came up with the idea that, not unlike my posts last month, I should dedicate this entire month featuring food set around a specific theme. So I have quite a few ideas up my sleeve … easy ones, classic ones, desserts, main courses … there is something for everybody. I even have recipes that are giftable; simply pack them up in pretty boxes and hand them out to loved ones.
This recipe is pretty involved … meaning it’s a bit fiddly and requires you to have fairly good knife skills, not to mention knowledge of chicken anatomy. I myself am just learning, which is why I am posting this recipe. I need the practice, you know. I was in Ireland last month and for dinner at the Hilton Hotel I was served this beautiful piece of chicken. Didn’t even know it had a specific name, so I wrote it down in my notebook and Googled it later that night in my room. Apparently, there is no other way to get this cut of poultry unless you buy a whole chicken and portion it yourself … or you have a very accommodating butcher. YouTube holds a treasure trove of information and is your best friend if you are a self-taught home cook like myself. In three years both my knife skills and cooking / baking abilities have improved greatly, all because I spend hours and hours watching YouTube videos. It helps when you don’t have a job I guess … which will have to stop soon when I finally DO get a job.
Anyway, back to chicken supremes and how to obtain them from a whole chicken. I hope my picture diagram will help shed some light on the subject. I’ll explain further below.
1. Start off with a nice whole chicken … skin on. The skin should be nice and supple, no blemishes and it should be dry. If you have rinsed your chicken, then pat dry with kitchen towels or a clean tea towel.
2. Detach the drumette from the flat of the wing by finding the joint and cutting in between the cartilage. It should separate easily without you putting too much force on the blade.
3. Now carefully slice straight down the breast bone and peel away the meat from the rib cage. Dislocate the shoulder joint and slice through the cartilage to separate the drumette from the rest of the bird. You will now have a nice piece of breast meat and the drum. All we need to do now is tidy everything up a bit to make it look presentable for the plate.
4. Change to a small paring knife and cut around the tip of the bone to sever the tendons and loosen the meat. Cut all the way down to the bone and cut all around the knuckle. Now using the blade facing up towards you, scrape down against the bone to clear it of flesh … much like Frenching lamb cutlets. And there you have it … a chicken supreme. Do not remove the skin. The skin is there to prevent the meat from drying out during the cooking process.
And now for the rest of the ingredient list. I have kept it fairly simple because the pesto itself provides bold flavours. The chicken is simply salted and peppered and pan-fried in butter. Some garlic powder may be used but I find these burn fairly quickly and you may get bitter specs on the skin.
Ingredients
2 chicken supremes, cut from a single bird
salt & pepper
butter + oil for frying
Puy lentils, black beans, or white beans of choice
1 red onion, sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ red capsicum, diced
¼ green capsicum, diced
cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 radishes, diced
bunch of coriander
pesto
Heat a pan on medium high, then add olive oil + a knob of butter … like a tablespoon. Place the supremes in the pan, skin side down. The supremes have both been salted and peppered before I added them to the pan.
Leave it in the pan until the skin gets a nice color. Tip the pan and spoon some of that hot butter over the rest of the chicken to baste it. After about 4 mins, flip it to cook the other side. Then transfer to a foiled tray and roast in the oven to finish the cooking … about 5 mins or so. Remove from the oven later and allow to rest. Meantime, prepare the beans and lentils. I am using a mixture of Puy lentils and black beans … but you can use any beans you like.
In the same pan as you cooked the chicken, drain off excess fat and sautée the onions, garlic and the capsicums on a gentle flame. Once the onions have softened, add the beans and toss. Season with salt and pepper. If there are any juices from the resting chicken, add it to the pan. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes until the lentils are warmed through then turn off the heat. Add the radishes and chopped coriander … stir through. Adjust seasoning as you see fit.
All done. Now all that is left to do is to plate up. Set the table, light some candles, put on some romantic tunes, chill the wine and treat your loved one to a dinner made with amore. Lentils go down first, followed by the chicken. If you find the chicken breast a little too meaty and thick, then you can always slice it in half length wise to facilitate cutting. Arrange some cherry tomatoes and drizzle some pesto all around the plate. Garnish as necessary.
Delicious flavours all around. Lovely juicy chicken breast with scrumptious pesto flavoured lentils. You can serve this either as an entrée or as a main. If you are in search of a starter, perhaps a nice tartare of salmon with cucumbers and avocadoswould be of interest? For dessert, might I suggest Raspberry Mousse cakes or the all time favourite Chocolate Fondants with creme anglais. All very delicious options, here to help you create a most memorable Valentine’s evening. Some time next week I shall be presenting another decadent dessert aimed at invoking an atmosphere of luurrve on your special evening ~ Chocolate Brownie & Raspberry Mousse cake. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this recipe and decide to make it yourselves. Good luck!!
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