Friday 29 August 2014

Bacon Wrapped Lemon-Chicken



Oh wow, that sounds strange. Even to me... and I know what to expect.




Here is the thing: I like chicken. In my opinion it is easy to prepare and very versatile. But after watching 'Food Inc.', I really have issues with purchasing it in a supermarket without knowing where it is from.
Trust me, I am not an 'animal rights activist' (is that a thing?) but that documentary stuck with me. I am a student and on a pretty tight budget, so I have to either trust what the label says (there are some for local, organic and so on) or go to the butcher across the street and hope he is honest about where he got the chicken... and not too pricey.

Yes, well, this is not going to be a meat-eating-morality post... I am, and probably always will be carnivore :) Just putting out there that you could maybe try to opt for the more animal-friendly version of the meat you buy... or not. Totally a personal choice. No judgement.

I had the same thing about McDonalds and BurgerKing after watching 'Supersize Me', and now I am back to sometimes enjoying a burger when on the road. (Hoping that the rumours about German standards being higher is actually true... if you are German speaking go watch this)


Back to my Bacon Wrapped Lemon-Chicken.



Soooo easy... soooo good. And boyfriend approved. A win-win-win situation.



I made some very easy side dishes, one spinach and one potato dish. Cutting down on the work in the kitchen big time.

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

  • chicken breasts, I choose the smaller ones
  • a lemon
  • campari tomatoes, see here
  • fresh oregano
  • bacon, enough to cover each breast
  • olive oil
  • salt, pepper, paprika, rosemary
For the spinach:
  • fresh spinach, I love baby spinach
  • garlic, diced
  • a little bit of grated Parmesan
  • cream
  • salt, pepper, olive oil, ground nutmeg
For the potatoes:
  • small potatoes, any you like
  • rosemary, salt, pepper
  • olive oil
  • a small piece of butter




Start by boiling the potatoes, do not forget the salt and preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F (I know it is actually 356°F... but who are we kidding... that is not going to happen)

While they boil, fry the chicken in a pan until it is slightly golden brown on both sides. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and a little bit of ground rosemary.

Place the chicken in an ovenproof dish. Cut the lemon in four wedges and put the slices in the dish as well. Sprinkle the fresh oregano all over and cover each chicken breast with bacon. Finally add as many tomatoes as you like and set the dish on a baking trey int the middle of your oven and bake until the bacon turns crispy. Just to be sure that the chicken is actually done, cut on breast open. If they need more time, cover the dish with aluminium foil and put it back in the oven. (the foil will prevent anything from burning...)





While the chicken just sits in the oven, prepare the spinach. In either a large pan or pot sauté the garlic in a little bit of olive oil for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. 

In another pan, start to brown your potatoes. Season them with a little bit of rosemary, salt and pepper. I like to use a little bit of olive oil and butter for browning potatoes. O course you could go with just olive oil or butter - just be careful that the butter doesn't burn.






Now add the spinach to the garlic and gently stir. When the leaves turn dark green add a splash of cream and the parmesan and stir again. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste and reduce the heat.

Ideally everything will be done as soon as the chicken is ready. 





Bon Appétit


P.S.:If you are using larger chicken breasts, you should probably wait until the chicken is almost done before you prepare the spinach. 


No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Pin It button on image hover