Summer Chicken.
A delicious creamy dish great for any day of the week and a good way to sneak in extra veg! Which is great on a number of fronts, nutritionally and also it means you only really need either some lovely new potatoes or rice to serve with it making it really easy for you.
What you need: Feeds 4
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
- 200g cherry tomatoes left whole
- 1 red pepper sliced
- 3 tablespoons of frozen peas
- 2 heaped teaspoons of pesto
- 300ml creme fraiche either full or half fat
- Salt and pepper
- Handful of freshly basil chopped (optional)
You will also need a large frying or large saucepan with a lid.
How to make:
1. Heat the oil in the pan, add the sliced peppers and lower the heat. Cook over a low heat for 5 minutes to soften the peppers. (Photo 1).
2. Add the chicken breasts to the pan, turn up the heat slightly and cook for 5 minutes on each side, try not to move the chicken whilst its cooking you want a nice golden colour on each side. (Photo 2).
3. Once browned pop on the lid, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes. (Photo 3). The time taken to cook through will really depend on the thickness of the chicken breasts. After 20 minutes check to see if cooked through. Find the thickest chicken breast and cut into the meatiest part, if any of it looks pinky raw or there is any blood then it is not cooked through. (Photo 4 – cooked through). Replace the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes and check again. Mine took around 30 minutes to cook all the way through, but they were fairly thick.
4. Add the tomatoes and pesto to the pan together with a good grind of salt and pepper, (Photo 5), simmer for 5 minutes so that the tomatoes are starting to soften.
5. Add the creme fraiche and the peas to the pan, up the heat and bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes (Photo 6), then stir in the fresh chopped basil. (Photo 7).
6. Serve immediately with either some rice or boiled potatoes – Enjoy ! (Photo 8)
For more information on Jane Cooper and other recipes visit the Cooking with Jane page here.
