Mediterranean Chicken Breasts

Now this is seriously good. This may be my favorite chicken breast recipe yet, and is from The Garlic Lover’s Cookbook. Don’t worry about all the garlic. By the time it is served it is very mild and nobody will have garlic breath.

Mediterranean Chicken Breasts

For the marinade:

4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup safflower oil
2 lemons

For the Chicken:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
30 cloves garlic
1 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
1 cup italian bread crumbs
2 cups chick stock or broth
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 cup dry white wine

The Marinade:

Zest the lemons then juice them. Put the zest and 4 garlic cloves into the food processor and pulse for a few seconds until the garlic has been minced. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and lemon juice. Run the food processor while dribbling in the oils.

The Chicken:

Pour the marinade into a flat container with a lid, insert the chick breasts and let them marinade overnight.

Place the parmigiano reggiano and breadcrumbs in a bowl and mix well. Remove the breasts from the marinade. Discard the marinade. Dredge the breasts in the bread crumb/parmigiano reggiano mixture. Put them on a plate in the refrigerator and let stand for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the chicken broth/stock to a boil. place the 30 garlic cloves in the chicken stock and let them boil for 10 minutes. Remove them from the chicken stock with a slotted spoon and set them aside. Continue to let the chicken stock boil, reducing it to 1 1/2 cups.

When the oven is up to temp, put the chicken breasts in a large oven-proof saute pan, scatter the garlic cloves around in the pan, cover, and bake for 15-20 minutes or until almost done. Remove the lid and start the broiler. Broil until golden brown.

Remove the saute pan from the oven. Remove the chciken from the pan to a plate and tent with foil. Deglaze the saute pan with the white wine and reduce to 1/4 cup. Add chicken stock and parsley and further reduce to about 1 cup. Add lemion juice.

Place a breast on each plate. place a few garlic cloves around the breast, and pour on a little sauce.

Shown here accompanied by Creamed Spinach.