Best Chile Thyme Chicken Breasts With Sweet And Spicy Brussels Sprouts Recipes

CHICKEN BREAST WITH CLEMENTINES, THAI BIRD CHILE AND YUKON GOLD AND CAULIFLOWER PUREE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Coat a medium saute pan with olive oil, and place over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, sprinkle the skin of the chicken generously with salt, and then place skin-side down into the pan. Cook until the skin is golden and crispy, 4 to 6 minutes. Sprinkle the opposite side of the breast with salt, and then flip the chicken and continue cooking until cooked through, another 5 to 6 minutes. If the pan starts to smoke, lower the heat. Transfer the breast to a sheet pan, tent loosely with foil and place in the oven until the sauce is finished and you are ready to plate.
• Remove the excess oil from the pan before returning over medium-high heat. Add the clementine juice, clementine supremes and vinegar, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan. Stir in the thyme and chiles and let the liquid reduce by half before pouring in the chicken stock and a pinch salt. Continue cooking until the stock has reduced. Taste the sauce, making sure it's delicious, and then remove the thyme stalk and season with more salt, if needed. The sauce should be thickened and a little chunky.
• Lay the Yukon Gold and Cauliflower puree on the bottom of the plate, and then slice the chicken breast and fan the slices on top. Spoon some of the sauce on and around the chicken, and garnish with the supreme clementines.
• Halve the potatoes, and then cut each half into 6 to 8 pieces. Place the potatoes in a pot large enough to hold the cauliflower as well, and then cover the potatoes by 2 inches of water. Sprinkle generously with salt (it should taste like the ocean) and bring to a boil. After the water has been boiling about 10 minutes, add the cauliflower and cook until the vegetables are fork-tender.
• Bring the cream to a scald in a small saucepan. Meanwhile, pass the potatoes and cauliflower through a food mill into a large bowl. Add about half of the hot cream and 1/2 of the butter, and stir with purpose until thoroughly combined. Repeat this process with the remaining cream and butter until incorporated. Taste for seasoning (you will probably have to add salt), and serve warm. Yield: 2 servings.

LEMON-THYME CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Combine lemon juice, chicken broth, 2 tablespoons olive oil, Dijon mustard, lemon zest, garlic, chicken bouillon, and thyme in a small bowl. Mix together thoroughly.
• Combine flour and salt on a small dish. Coat chicken with flour on both sides.
• Heat butter and remaining olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Cook chicken until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Reduce heat to low and pour broth mixture and lemon slices over chicken. Cover and simmer until no longer pink in the centers, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and serve with lemon slices on top, spooning the broth over the chicken.

SHEET-PAN LEMONY CHICKEN WITH BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 450 degrees, set one rack 6 inches from the broiler and place another rack in the lower third of the oven. In a large bowl, combine the butter, zest of both lemons, half the parsley and 1 teaspoon salt. Rub 1 teaspoon oil on a sheet pan. Pat the chicken dry, then transfer to the sheet pan and season well with salt and pepper. Reserve about 1 teaspoon of the compound butter in the bowl, then rub the rest all over the chicken and under the skin by lifting it up, pushing a tiny amount of compound butter underneath, then pressing on top. Arrange the chicken pieces skin-side up.
• Add the brussels sprouts, onion wedges, lemon rounds, red-pepper flakes and the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil to the bowl with the compound butter; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange the brussels sprouts mixture around the chicken, placing some lemon rounds on top of the vegetables.
• Roast on the lower rack, 30 to 35 minutes, stirring the vegetables halfway through, until the chicken is crispy, the chicken juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a fork, and the brussels sprouts are browned and crunchy. If the chicken skin is not as crispy as you'd like, transfer the vegetables to a serving platter, then place the chicken under the broiler for 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken to the serving platter.
• Squeeze one of the lemon halves over the chicken and vegetables and cut the remaining lemon half into quarters. Garnish the chicken and vegetables with the cheese and the remaining parsley, and serve with the lemon wedges.