Breast of Chicken with Watercress Sauce and Broad Beans
This delicate and light Chicken in Watercress sauce with Broad Beans is a beautiful vibrant green and its colour alone shouts out how healthy and wholesome it is. An absolutely delicious chicken dish for Summer.
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
Small drop olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
3 tbsps. double cream
4 tbsps. dry vermouth (or white wine or apple juice)
150g frozen broad beans, de-frosted and popped out of their grey skins
1 pkt. watercress
Method
Swirl a drop of olive oil around a frying pan with a lid, pop in the chicken breasts, top side downwards and cook gently for two minutes
Turn the breasts over, clamp on the lid and continue to cook very gently for 10-12 minutes.
Remove the breasts and transfer with their juices into a bowl. Cover the bowl immediately with cling film to trap the steam inside. Keep the bowl of chicken in a warm not hot place. (Store in the fridge after cooling if you are preparing ahead).
Using the chicken pan, gently sweat the onion with a pinch of salt and a touch more oil if it is needed, until translucent
Add the cream to the pan and bubble up. It will thicken almost at once
When the cream has thickened, add the vermouth (or wine/apple juice) and bubble for a couple of minutes
Reserve a few sprigs of watercress for garnish and chop the rest, stalks and all
Add the delicious juices which will have accumulated around the chicken breasts in the bowl to the sauce and thickly slice the breasts.
Just before serving, heat the sauce through again if necessary, stir in the watercress and the broad beans. Season to taste.
Pour over the chicken breasts to serve.
Helpful Hints
It's a bit of a fiddle popping the beans out of their skins, but so worth it for colour and flavour.
If using fresh beans, boil and cool in very cold water before popping the beans. Keep them in the fridge to preserve the vibrant green colour.
Cook the breasts only on a gentle heat to avoid the outside of the breasts becoming tough and dry. They should only take 10 -12 minutes or so to cook provided your pan isn't crowded.
Prepare the first 6 steps ahead and store in the fridge if you wish. To re-heat the chicken you
can either slice it and drop it into the warm sauce to heat through, or slip the whole breasts
wrapped in foil into a warm oven to re-heat. However, watch out, they will cook on and dry out very easily.
It is important to add the watercress and beans at the last moment to retain the delicate peppery taste of the watercress as well as its beautiful colour.
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