I realized that it has been a week since I last posted some food here – it has therefore been a week since I last took a culinary excursion. Today I bring you a baked chicken breast dinner with broccolini. The chicken marinade is based around the flavors of tarragon, mint, lemongrass, and ginger. The broccolini is steamed and topped with a tarragon, mustard aioli. The dish is finished with a salad of baby spring greens and pickled carrots, cucumber and ginger.
Tarragon Ginger Chicken
ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbls tarragon leaves, minced
1 Tbls mint leaves, minced
1/2 Tbls lemongrass, minced
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbls sesame oil
1 Tbls ginger, grated
3 Tbls lime juice
2 tsp lime zest
1 Serrano pepper, finely minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 Tbls low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbls ginger, thinly sliced
directions:
Trim fat off chicken and place into large zip lock bag. Whisk together tarragon, mint, lemongrass, grapeseed oil, olive oil, sesame oil, grated ginger, lime juice and zest, serrano pepper, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Pour the marinade into bag with chicken and seal tightly with as little air as possible. Place chicken into refrigerator and marinate for one to two hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Remove chicken from refrigerator. Place chicken on large sheet of aluminum foil, spoon a few Tbls of marinade onto chicken and top with sliced ginger. Wrap chicken tightly in the foil with seam on top. Place on baking sheet, to protect from leaks, and bake for 25 minutes till firm and cooked through.
Broccolini with Tarragon, Mustard Aioli
ingredients:
1 bunch broccolini, approximately 1/2 pound
1/2 cup tarragon leaves, chopped
2 Tbls mint leaves, chopped
2 Tbls cilantro leaves, chopped
2 Tbls lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
1 Tbls mustard powder
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
2 Tbls sesame oil
2 Tbls basil flavored extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbls rice vinegar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
directions:
Trim ends of broccolini and clean thoroughly. Steam broccolini for 5 minutes till crisp and tender.
Aiolis are typically made with eggs to help with the emulsification, though on occasion mustard powder is used, such is the case here. Combine remaining ingredients, except mustard powder, blend until smooth. Add mustard powder and blend until thickens to about the consistency of mayonnaise. Add a little more grapeseed oil to smoothen if needed.
Pickled Salad
ingredients:
3 inch piece seedless cucumber (also referred to as English cucumber)
1 carrot
1 inch piece ginger
1 Serrano pepper, finely minced
2 tsp lemongrass, finely minced
1/2 cup sushi rice vinegar
2 cups baby spring mix (salad greens)
directions:
Using mandoline, slice cucumber, carrot and ginger thinly. I prefer to slice them paper thin, you can cut a thin or thick as you like. Combine cucumber, carrot, ginger, lemongrass, serrano, and sushi vinegar and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, may be stored for up to 3 days.
Plating
I had taken the chicken breast and thinly sliced it across the grain and mounded it at one end of the plate. On top of this I arranged the spring mix and topped it with the pickled vegetables. The broccolini was arranged at the other end of the plate and topped with the tarragon mustard aioli. The plate was garnished with black sesame seeds. Nanami Togarashi (Japanese seven spice) seasoning would make a great finish topping to this dish – for a little extra kick.
