Seared Chicken Breast with Lemon Herb Pan Sauce
Sounds fancy huh?
It’s not. I mean it tastes super duper extra fancy… but it’s so not fancy and hard to make. Got me? Great.
This is a rustic one pan meal… which means that after you cut, chop and measure you cook the whole thing in one pan… and I like that in a recipe. I like it a lot. Now I’m not promising there to be little dishes to wash… only the whole cooking-in-one-pan thing. Settled. Phew.
I highly recommend using fresh herbs in this dish. They pack so much flavor that I promise you won’t regret it!
I swear every time that I go to buy flat leaf parsley… they only have this stuff… the curly kind. Really either would work… I just like the flat leaf kind better. Crazy… no. Picky… yes.
Chop, mince or bludgeon the heck out of it… like so.
Measure out a 1/3 cup of minced parsley and set aside.
Grab some fresh thyme.
STORY: Once, a long, loooong time ago, I put some not so fresh thyme into some soup. I didn’t realize it wasn’t its freshest until after dinner {and after Pat complained} when I checked the package to make sure I used the right herb, it was then when I saw… umm… gross herbs. I should also mention that I thought it would be a great idea to make chicken noodle soup in a crock pot, which it wasn’t. The noodles expanded into huge and super soggy blobs! Totally gross and yet my husband still ate it! I didn’t really get cooking then… yeah so that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
So since that horrible soup tasting experience, my husband has sworn up and down that he hates, and I mean HATES thyme… until I made this dish. Using fresh non-expired thyme helps, immensely.
Run your finger along the length of the branch, peeling of the thyme leaves… then just give those a quick chop.
Once the herbs are chopped toss those into a medium bowl.
Peel the rind off of a lemon and slice {carefully} into thin strips.
Add those along with fresh pressed garlic into the same bowl.
Toss together and set aside.
Get a large 12 inch skillet hot with some olive oil in it and season the chicken breast halves {whole breast that have been butterflied all the way through} with kosher salt and black pepper.
Once the oil is hot {really really hot}, sear the chicken on both sides, about 3 minutes a side.
Remove to a plate… but only for a second.
Pour the chicken stock into the pan, it’s going to hiss and spit at you, but scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan {that’s where the best flavor is at!}
After scraping all the goodies from the bottom of the pan, bring it all to a simmer.
Add 3/4 of the herb and lemon mixture and stir.
Place the chicken halves back into the sauce and turn to coat. Let simmer in the pan sauce and covered for 6 more minutes {or until chicken is no longer pink}.
Serve with leftover herb/lemon mixture as garnish and drizzled with this delicious pan sauce! Maybe serve with this here salad, these potatoes and this bread recipe!
Enjoy!
Seared Chicken Breasts with Lemon Herb Pan Sauce
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
1/3 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon Fresh Thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon Fresh Lemon Peel, sliced into thin strips
2 medium size Garlic Cloves, Pressed {through garlic press} or minced
3-4 tablespoons of Butter
4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast Halves {brought to room temp}
1/4-1/2 cup of good Chicken Stock
Directions:
In a small bowl toss together the chopped parsley, thyme, garlic and sliced lemon peel.
Season the chicken with kosher salt and black pepper.
In a large 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat cook chicken in butter for about 6 minutes or until browned, turning only once in between. Transfer to plate.
Remove the skillet off of the heat; add in the stock and scraping up the brown bits. Add in 3/4 of the lemon/herb mixture. Return back to the heat and bring to a simmer, stirring. Return the chicken back to the skillet, turn to coat, simmer covered for about 6-8 more minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
Serve with pan sauce and garnish with remaining herb/lemon mixture if desired.
Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours! (
What a great recipe, this looks fantastic! I always love your photos, so helpful!
this chicken looks so juicy and flavorful!
I have the same problem with herbs at my grocery store! they never have what i need or the herbs have seen better days!
This looks and sounds so delicious. Your photos make everything crave worthy. I will need to bookmark this one and give it a go soon. Yummy!
Simple, full of flavour, simply delicious!
This is a wonderful dish. I forgot about deglazing my pan with chicken stock. All those bits and pieces. ::sigh:: I'm so glad that your husband is back on thyme. I recommend growing them at home; they grow like WEEDS… so quickly!
This is like out of a magazine, I just love it. Easy too!
I love the way the raw ingredients change into a delicious dish in you kitchen…
http://www.savitharajsspiceland.blogspot.com
Holy crap that sounds amazing. I will definitely have to try this next week.
This looks and sounds utterly delish!
This looks delicious! I can't wait to make it. Fancy but not difficult…love it!
I would order this at a restaurant! Its that fabulous!!!
Aimee Stone told me about your blog. Can you use chicken broth instead of chicken stock?