The postman delivered a little box to me yesterday. I couldn't imagine what it was. I swore up and down to Todd I hadn't ordered anything . . . but I was forgetting something!
Several weeks ago Becky had contacted me with the offer of some samples of Merchant Gourmet ingredients. I jumped at the chance as I love all of their stuff! (What foodie doesn't!!!)
It had finally arrived and what a lovely assortment there was! Pouches of Puy Lentils, Quinoa, and Polenta, some delicious Balsamic Syrup, Wholesome Grains, dried Porcini Mushrooms and some lovely Slow Roasted Tomatoes.
My brain immediately began ticking over about what I could make with them. I think you'll love what I came up with.
A delicious chicken dish with a lovely sundried tomato sauce, which you could either serve on a bed of polenta (scrummy) or quinoa!
The sauce is tangy and rich, and oh so perfect with the mild flavour of the chicken. Don't you just love that about chicken??? It's the perfect blank canvas to paint some gorgeous flavours on!
This was gorgeous! Thank you Merchant Gourmet. hmmm . . . I see a polenta cake in my future!
*Chicken with a Sun Dried Tomato Sauce*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
Tasty moist chicken breasts in a deliciously tangy tomato sauce. What's not to like?
70g of diced pancetta (about 1/4 cup)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 dessert spoons of sundried tomato dressing (see my recipe)
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 (400g) tin of chopped tomatoes in juice (1 cup)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to finish
Cook the pancetta in a large skillet until nicely browned and crisp and most of the fat has been released. Wipe the chicken breasts and dry them. Season them well all over with salt, pepper and dried basil, and then place them into the hot pan and brown them in the pancetta oil, browning them on each side. (About 2 minutes on each) Spoon the tomato dressing over each browned piece of chicken, then lower the heat and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes. Remove the cover and turn the chicken over. Cover and cook for an additonal 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and heat through. Grate some Parmesan cheese over top and serve. Delicious!
*Sun Dried Tomato Dressing*
Makes about 1 cup
Printable Recipe
Thick and tangy and good for more than just dressing salads. Wonderful with pasta and chicken.
100g of sun dried tomatoes (about half a cup)
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
3 ounces of good quality balsamic vinegar (a generous 1/3 cup)
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
3 ounces of extra virgin olive oil (a generous 1/3 cup)
2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Place all of the ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth.
This sounds delicious! I'm always looking for new chicken recipes because hubby is keeping heart issues and gout at bay, so I avoid red meat and saturated fats as much as possible. Both of us need a beef fix every now and then though.... so I made cottage pie tonight (with *lots* of vegetables).
ReplyDeleteBTW: Thank you for including American measurements in your recipes.
Are those un-rehydrated sundried tomatoes you started with? I really want to do this, but all I have is a bag of little leathery looking toms.
ReplyDeleteThose would be re-hydrated or marinated sundried tomatoes S. I think if you have the dried ones they would be fabulous rehydrated in some Italian Salad dressing. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteGünaydın, ellerinize, meğinize sağlık. Çok leziz ve iştah açıcı görünüyor.
ReplyDeleteSaygılar.
Oh, that sounds SOOOO good right now, Marie! I love sun-dried tomatoes...so perfectly scrumptious!
ReplyDeleteI will be trying this--chicken breasts are on sale this week!
Hope you're doing well, dear friend! So much love sent your way this lovely October night...
Julie
I'm going to try your recipe first. I've really not cooked with sundried toms yet. Package given to me and I've been waiting for the right recipe. And!! I happen to have a chicken in the freezer. A salad dressing would be lovely too.
ReplyDeleteLucky you. Such a box! Everything in there sounds exquisite. Do they do overseas? Hehe.
Marie I sent you an e-mail about a week ago.
Fuat Gencal I just visited your blog. Fascinating. I too make stuffed onions, although I use whole round yellow onions, taking out the middle a bit, where I put the stuffing. Yes, minced meat, bread crumbs, herbs. I stand them up in a pan, with some chicken broth around, and at first cover to cook.
ReplyDeleteOther foods there I'm having fun figuring out. I know, there's a translator, but trying to work it out myself is more fun. Thanks for posting your blog.
Why not make it Italian Kitchen? We English do not eat polenta.
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ReplyDeleteOh dear anonymous . . . do you think we should tell Jamie and Gordon? Who knew!!
ReplyDeleteWell I'm English and I eat polenta! Oh well.
ReplyDeleteBalsamic syrup sounds interesting. There's some stuff you can get in Tescos that is balsamic and syrupy and I just love it used on its own with somthing salady to dip in. To tell the truth I could actually eat it straight off a spoon. Heck - let's save on washing up - just gimme the bottle!!!!
You are a lucky girl! Looks so yummy I will have to book mark this recipe ;0)
ReplyDeleteI had a polenta supporting post there, took it out and planned to rewrite it but forgot, so I'll do it now.
ReplyDeleteI love polenta and learned to cook it(and cornbread, and cornmeal muffins, and cornmeal stuffing) long ago. I have polenta instead of pasta, under my spaghetti and meatballs, or ratatouille (oops also Italian, or Greek, or middle-Eastern). I sometimes don't spice the polenta and then eat it with honey and walnuts for breakfast or dessert (pudding.) I leaned to cook it in a Ukrainian kitchen, from a very English friend of my mom's. Mrs. Drinkwater was a really lovely lady. As you can see, my cuisine is so confused.
This sauce sounds great. I can't wait to try it. And I'm making those apple pancakes for breakfast tomorrow!
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