With the holiday season upon us, warm and big chicken plates are the season’s musts. I recently tried a balsamic marinated chicken breast and paired with an Aglio Olio inspired by The Chef Show. However easy chicken may look to cook, it is a tough nut to crack. Pun intended! Overcook this meat just a bit and you have yourselves a tough, chewy toughie. Moreover, since chicken is pretty bland on its own, marination is essential. Generally, I do 2-hour chicken marination if I am cooking Indian curries, but this one is an overnight marinade. You can choose to marinate the meat for 2-3 hours but I highly recommend overnight marination if time allows.
Chicken breasts are best paired with mashed potatoes. It was linguine Aglio olio for me however after an awe-inspiring episode of The Chef Show. You can check out the recipe for chicken breast in cranberry and mashed potato here.
Ingredients for the Balsamic Marinated Chicken Breast
- Chicken breast – 300 gm
- Garlic cloves chopped – 8 to 10 medium-sized
- Garlic and ginger paste – 1 tsp
- Balsamic vinegar – 4 tbsp
- Salt & pepper – to taste
- Olive Oil – 1 tbsp
- Thick cream – 2 tbsp
Method for the Balsamic Marinated Chicken Breast
- Wash the chicken breast thoroughly and pat dry.
- Lightly pound the chicken to make it flatter to ensure even cooking.
- Using a knife, add 4 to 5 slices of the chicken pieces so that the marinade gets absorbed well.
- Rub ginger garlic paste, salt and pepper on the chicken breast. Add the balsamic vinegar, mix well and let it rest in the fridge overnight.
- To cook, heat olive oil in a non-stick pan, add chopped garlic and cook till fragrant.
- Place the chicken on the pan, transfer all the marinade, cover and cook on one side for 6 to 7 minutes on medium-high heat. Do not fiddle with the chicken too much however much you might be tempted to.
- Using a pair of tongs, flip the chicken over, cover a cook on the other side for 5-6 minutes.
- Season with more salt and pepper as per your taste. Add 2 tbsp cream to the chicken and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken and sauce comes together.
Ingredients for the Linguine Aglio Olio
- Linguine – 1 oz (check ounce measure of pasta here)
- Garlic cloves – 4 to 5 cloves, sliced
- Olive oil – 2 tbsp
- Lemon zest – 1 tsp
- Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
- Oregano and chilly flakes – 1 tbsp mixed
- Salt – to taste
Method for the Linguine Aglio Olio
- Boil the pasta until al- dente.
- In a pan, heat the olive oil and add the garlic cloves. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Using a spaghetti strainer, transfer the linguine to the cooking pan.
- Add the oregano, chilly flakes, salt and mix well.
- Pour a ladle full of pasta water, add lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Cook for two minutes until the water has evaporated.
The final plating – Balsamic marinated chicken breast with linguine aglio olio
- Using tongs and an inspired technique from the Chefs, roll the linguine and place the pasta as nests on a plate.
- Place the chicken breast with the sauce over the pasta.
- For extra zest, I cooked lemon slices with a tablespoon of cream for a minute and poured over the chicken breast. Removed them before eating but added a surprising freshness to it!
Make sure you cook both these elements alongside. The pasta is likely to be done easily to ensure a hot meal. Re-heating ruins grilled chicken. Also, only 15 days to Christmas, are you as excited as I am? Make yourselves a plate of balsamic marinated chicken breast with aglio olio and mulled wine. And put on your favourite Christmas movie! 😀
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