I don't know about you... but I'm one of those people who, when they find something new they like, or remember an old forgotten favourite, will obsess over it for days, even weeks and use/eat/listen to that thing over and over again! Yes I have a bit of an addictive personality! Whether it's TV shows, computer games, music or food I tend to get carried away when I find something I like!
Now I'm getting into the swing of blogging, I'm always on the look out for something new to write about and it's made me realise I quite often go through days or weeks eating the same thing over and over again (whenever I get chance) because I really, really like it! I thought it may be a bit of fun to share this with the hashtag #mycurrentobsession - feel free to join in! It would be lovely and reassuring to know that I'm not alone!
To start it off, my current obsession is:
Grilled butterfly chicken breast
We've been trying to eay healthily lately so the old favourite of chicken and rice rears it's head. One evening my Fiance asked for coriander and lime chicken so I diligently called into the supermarket on the way home from work and picked up some fresh herbs and limes and brought them home to experiment on my own recipe. The result was so tasty, easy and relatively healthy that I craved it for days after and started getting other ingredients in to try different variations. Here are some tips and ideas for you to have a go yourselves.
Cutting the chicken
This is something that once scared me!. I thought of cutting meat as something only professional chefs could do. And yes admittedly my butterfly chicken breasts don't always come out perfectly, you can't really go too far wrong as long as the breasts are thinner with more surface area there's more room for flavourings and they cook quicker under the grill. Simple!
Place the chicken breast on a chopping board and get a very sharp knife. With your free hand press the palm of your hand firmly down over the length of the breast. Working from the fat rounded end work out roughly half the thickness and slide the knife in. Once you've sliced the top portion in half I find it easier to open the partly butterflied breast out and then carry on slicing as it makes it easier to see what you're doing. Once the breast is sliced in half it should open out into a sort of heart shape. Dont worry if there are some holes where you've gone a bit off course, it is still edible and you can perfect your skills in time!
Flavourings
One of the things I loved about this was that it really didn't take long to flavour the chicken. 10 minutes to marinade is all you need. Here are some of the combinations we've had.
Coriander and lime
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- A small bunch of coriander, stalks removed and chopped finely
- 1 small chilli (seeds in if you like it hot)
- 1/2 tablespoon of honey
Served with egg fried noodles
Ginger and lemon
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 cm piece of ginger chopped finely or 1 tablespoon of ginger paste
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 small chilli (seeds in if you like it hot)
- 1/2 tablespoon of honey
Served with egg fried rice
Garlic and thyme
- 2 cloves of garlic crushed
- 1 small bunch of thyme, stalks removed, chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 generous pinch of salt
served with salt and peppered wedges
Basil, thyme and lemon
- 1 small bunch of basil leaves chopped finely
- 1 small bunch of thyme, stalks removed, chopped finely
- 2 cloves of garlic crushed
- Juice of 1 lemon
- pinch of salt
Served with spaghetinni aglio e olio (see Nigel Slater's recipe)
As you can see this is so simple and the variations are endless! Please get in touch if you have your own recipes that I could try? Or even if you have your own foodie obsession! Use the hashtag #mycurrentobsession on twitter, and drop me a tweet @lovelyappetite so I can find you.
