How to Prepare Baked Chicken Breasts with Garlic Butter

Chicken breasts are often sautéed or pan-fried but they are excellent when baked. This recipe from our local restaurant in Coleford came up with this as a simple homage to Ukraine. It’s a simple baked version using garlic butter which would normally be the filling and without the breadcrumbs.

This dish had sides of steamed broccoli, peas, some broad beans (fava beans) and green French beans.

Serves 4; Preparation time: 7-8 minutes; Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 medium-sized to large chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 tablespoon frying or cooking oil such as rapeseed, sunflower, avocado, sunflower, grapeseed etc. but not olive oil please!
•  ½ – 1 teaspoon paprika – subject to your level of piquant flavour and heat
• 1 clove garlic – minced
• 1 small onion or large shallot – chopped finely
• ½ – 1 teaspoon dried thyme. Fresh thyme is great but not available all year round.
• Ground black pepper to taste but a guideline level is ½ teaspoon.

The Garlic Butter

• 2-3  cloves garlic, minced, finely chopped and/or grated
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon tarragon and lovage if available. An equivalent amount of Italian seasoning will also add a certain difference too.
• 2 tablespoons butter
•  1 teaspoon clear honey
•  1 small hot chili – cut finely for heat but its optional

Preparation:

1. Heat the oven to 190ºC/400ºF
2. Make the garlic butter by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. Ideally this can be microwaved for up to 20 seconds to melt the butter otherwise warm the bowl over a saucepan of boiling water to melt as you would chocolate. As soon as the butter has melted take off the heat.
3. Flatten the chicken breast with a rubber mallet but try to avoid tearing the flesh or taking chunks out of it. A piece of cling film on top of the breast helps to lessen the damage. The intention is to improve the overall evenness of cooking.
4. Mix the paprika, black pepper, thyme and salt with the minced garlic and shallot/onion in a bowl.
5. Season all sides of the chicken breast and keep at room temperature for at least 20 minutes for the flavours to infuse in.
6. Heat the cooking oil in a skillet or frying pan on a medium to high heat. If you use a frying pan, an enameled one works well in an oven otherwise transfer the breasts to an oven-proof baking dish. 
7. When the oil is hot enough add the chicken breasts and brown on each side for between 1 and two minutes. The breast should be slightly translucent pink in the middle. Completely white and it could easily get dry with baking.
8. Pour as much of the garlic butter mixture over the breasts. Put the skillet in the oven and bake/roast for up to 15 minutes but it should be ready in 12 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through so check a piece of breast is white inside.
9. Remove from the oven and rest 3 minutes and then serve with green beans and broccoli.