Summer Bacon Chicken Goodness
This is the dish you make when you want something a bit saucy, a bit hearty, but also a bit summery.
It’s the seasonal summery stew you’ve been looking for. Instead of your standard root veg, I’ve opted for a green hit of peas, lettuce and fennel. Honestly, it is super delicious. To compliment the delicate greens and salty bacon bits, I made a zesty lemon emulsion which really pulls together all the flavours and balances it out.
I’ve never used fennel before…
I love using fennel in cooking but I’ve gotta admit that like Marmite, you tend to love it or hate it. When used raw, it has a aniseed/liquorice taste that can be quite strong, however once cooked the flavour mellows out and becomes a little sweeter so it won’t overpower the dish. Butttt, when used in the right way, even an aniseed hater can be converted.
For more light chicken-y dishes, give my pesto and cream cheese stuffed chicken a go and get even more greens down ya gob x
Ingredients
- 2 free range chicken breasts
- 200g bacon lardons
- 150g peas
- 1 bulb of fennel (save the hairy bits for garnish)
- 1 baby gem lettuce
- 1 lemon
- Oil (for frying the chicken)
- A couple sprigs of rosemary
- A couple garlic cloves
- 80g salted butter
- 300ml Vegetable/chicken stock
- Salt and pepper to season
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Firstly, add your bacon lardons/pancetta to a cold pan and bring up the heat. You want it nice and crispy.
- Next, slice your fennel and add to a bowl of water with your lemon (cut in half). Leave to one side.
- Add your chicken breasts (skin down) to a separate cold pan with a splash of oil and bring up the heat til you get a lovely crispy skin. While frying, add your rosemary sprigs and garlic cloves to infuse the oil. Don't forget to season your breasts!
- When the skin is crispy, transfer your chicken to the oven to finish off cooking. Check there are no pink bits!
- While the chicken is in the oven, you can make the lemon emulsion. Start by adding butter and stock to a pan and bring up the boil. Then add in the juice from your lemon and the fennel. Reduce the heat. I also like to add in the juices from the chicken pan (once it's done cooking).
- Remove the chicken from the oven and carve into thick slices.
- Add the peas, bacon lardons and lettuce to your emulsion and give it a good mix. Once combined, spoon into a bowl/pasta dish and top with your chicken. Finish it off with a final squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkling of tarragon if you've got some! Enjoy!