This is a recipe from Maggie Beer's amazing book 'Harvest' . . . . quite possibly the most expensive cookbook ever! It has an embroidered cover, making me permanently terrified of having it on the countertop when I cook: don't imagine the stains would come out easily!
I hadn't visited it in a while - I've had it around 18 months . . . I think I was intimidated by just how gorgeous it is: I don't want to get it dirty! It is a wonderful cook book (tome is a better word!), and one to really treasure. Reading through over the weekend, I was inspired by many of the recipes, and I will be trying quite a few different things from this one over the coming months, so watch this space
There is a recipe for peach (apricot?) halves, where you fill the kernel hole w/ butter, ginger & almonds, that is just so simple, and utterly delicious. One of my best dessert ever according to my brother, and he is an expert!
There are a few different steps to this chicken recipe, but none of them are overly complex or tricky.
You need to make this pesto, and make this polenta, and marinate the chicken breasts for an hour so I would suggest either save this for a weekend meal., or if you want this for a special mid-week dinner, get a little organised and make the pesto, and marinate the chicken etc ahead of time.
The end result is absolutely worth it!
BTW: 'Verjuice' is something that Ms Beer is quite famous for. In fact I believe she was one of the first people in the world to produce it commercially. You see it in more recipe's now, but you see it in Maggie Beer recipes all the time. It is the juice of unfermented grapes, and you use it similarly to how you might use vinegar, except that it isn't tart at all. Harris Farm stock it (yes, them again! No, I'm not secretly working for them!), as does the DJ's foodhall, and most good deli's. Or you can order it online from her website:
1/3 cup (55g) raisins2 sprigs of rosemary
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 free range chicken breasts, (the recipe says skin on, but I used skinless)
1/3 cup (50g) pine nuts
1 tbs butter
Polenta and Salsa Agresto
Soak the raisins in the verjuice overnight (or microwave on 'defrost' setting for 5 mins). If you are like me, and can't figure out how to work your microwave, you could do what I did: I microwaved them on normal for 1.5 mins, and then left to soak until I needed them an hour or so later.
Strip the rosemary leaves & save for another day. Put the rosemary 'twigs' into a dish w/ the olive oil (except 1 tbs, save this for cooking the chicken) & a little pepper, then add the chicken breasts, coating them in the oil/twig mix. Cover & marinate for at least 1 hour.
Pre-heat the oven to 220'c, and moisten the pine nuts w/ a little of the olive oil, place on a baking tray & roast for 5 minutes, or until golden. Be careful as they go from golden to burnt very quickly!
Heat a frying pan large enough to have space between the chicken: if it isn't, cook them in batches. Over medium heat add the butter, and once golden brown, add the saved tablespoon of olive oil. Put the chicken in, skin side down, and fry for 6 - 8 minutes until golden (lots of golden in this recipe!). Flip over & cook the other side. Season, and leave in a warm place, skin side down.
Discard any butter left in the frying pan, and toss in the raisins, and stir to deglaze the pan. Turn up the heat up to high to reduce the liquid by half. Stir in the pine nuts, and mixing to incorporate them well.
Place some polenta, then a chicken breast on a plate, and pour over some of the sauce. Add a generous dolop of the pesto, serve!
Wine Match!
This is lovely with a not-too-sweet rose, pinot noir, but I served it with a bottle of Bloodwood Chardonnay (a cool climate chardonnay from Orange, not too oaky of course!).
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