Friday, April 26, 2013

Week 17: Baked Chicken Tapenade

The Recipe
1lb boneless, skinless chicken pieces - preferably breasts
5-6 olives, finely chopped OR 4 tbsp olive tapenade
8 slices of pancetta or parma
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1dl (~6.5tbsp) white wine
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tomatoes, quartered
1 bell pepper, cut in chunks
Salt, pepper

Preheat the oven to 220C.

With a sharp knife, cut some deep wedges into each chicken piece. Put the chopped olives/olive tapenade into the wedges and wrap each piece in 1-2 slices of pancetta. Place the chicken in an ovenproof dish and place the tomato and bell pepper pieces around them. Pour wine and olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the juices run clear. Cover with some foil and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with ciabatta bread that's been sliced, brushed with olive oil and grilled for 2-3 minutes.

The Verdict
After a couple of weeks with disappointing results, I am very happy to say that I loved this. It tasted just as good as it sounded, and my not-too-fond-of-chicken DH liked it too :) I think I'll chop of the garlic finer and add it to the olives next time though - they rather disappeared in the sauce. The ciabatta would only improve with some garlic as well ;)
I tried chopping the garlic finer and adding it to the olives - it DEFINITELY needs less garlic if doing it that way. I used 2 large cloves, and it was almost overpowering. So one should be more than enough.

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