This Easy Pan Sauce Makes Chicken Taste Like Heaven

Very simple ingredients for this dish. It’s great because it takes a very short time from start to finish to make, perfect for a weeknight meal.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast, sliced in half lengthwise

2 lemon, zested and juiced

1 c heavy cream

4-5 garlic cloves

1 tbsp chopped thyme, about 5 stems worth

Salt and pepper to taste (1 tbsp salt, 2 tsp pepper)

Tools needed:

Cutting board

Sharp knife

Microplane zester or citrus zester

Measuring cup

Large saute pan

How to make it:

Cut root end off garlic, remove outer paper layer and thinly slice.

Zest both lemons being careful not to get down to the white pith. Save juicing the lemon until later.

Pick thyme leaves off the stems and rough chop. Save the stems for using to flavor soups and stocks.

Cut the chicken in half lengthwise, trimming any undesired fat.

Chicken is relatively bland on its own, going heavy on the seasoning and lemon is necessary.

Season the chicken with lemon zest, salt, pepper and the chopped thyme. I like to use all the zest on the chicken and about 2 tsp of the chopped thyme on the chicken. Save the rest of the thyme for the sauce.

Warm up large saute pan over medium high heat for a few minutes. Add the oil and the chicken, dropping the chicken away from you. Sear the chicken own both sides for 2-3 minutes or so on per side to get a nice caramelization on the chicken. Cooking the chicken all of the way through isn’t necessary as it will get cooked the rest of the way later on in the sauce. Once the chicken is nice and browned on both sides, set aside on a plate.

Reduce pan heat to medium low and add sliced garlic with a pinch of salt. The salt helps pull moisture from the garlic and the flavor out. Add 2 tbsp butter to the pan and sweat the garlic for 4-5 minutes stirring frequently. As the garlic sweats, scrape the bottom of the pan with a spoon to get the caramelized bits up from the bottom of the pan. That is great flavor! We’re not looking to get the garlic fully caramelized, a little browning is good. Once the garlic is cooked, add the cream and the juice from both lemons. Turn the cooking temperature up to medium to bring the cream to a simmer. It should take about 5 minutes to reduce the cream. Once simmering, add the chicken with resting juices. Reduce the cream by half, flipping the chicken halfway through the cooking time. I look for a nice thickness to the cream and it will turn a different color when reduced fully. If you scrape a spoon on the bottom of the pan, it should leave a streak in the cream for a split second. Of course, sauce consistency is a personal preference. I like my cream sauces to be on the thicker side.

My favorite way to plate is with some baked asparagus, crispy crushed potatoes or pearl couscous.

Enjoy!

Logan