My mom used to cook something similar to this dish when I was younger, and I decided to recreate it. I went to the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto today and got some huge fresh Mennonite chicken breasts and some fresh thyme, brought them home, and started cooking.
Ideally, this chicken is made in one pan, first to fry the chicken, then to make the sauce.
You can roast the chicken in the oven and make the sauce separately, but the pan juices from the meat add flavor to the sauce then they’re cooked in the pan together. I used skin on bone in chicken breasts because I like the way they cook up less dry than the boneless skinless ones, although you could totally use those in this recipe too – just adjust the cooking time down.
The chicken breasts I got, as I mentioned, were huge – way bigger than your typical ones (paging Dolly Parton) so I had to adjust my cooking time to accommodate them. This worked just fine, since the moisture from the lidded pan and the onions kept everything from burning and the chicken came out really juicy.
Serves 2
2 bone in skin on chicken breasts, about 3/4-1 lb total
2T olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
5 sprigs of fresh thyme, stripped
2 cups frozen raspberries
3T 2% or higher Greek yogurt
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Heat olive oil in a heavy pan.
Salt and pepper the chicken breasts.
On high heat, add onion, shallot, thyme, and garlic and cook until the onions and shallots are browned and caramelized (the ones in the picture have just been added to the pan – you want them a lot darker than that).
Add chicken breasts and sear, skin side first, then turn over, lower heat to low/medium, and cover pan for 20 minutes, flipping the chicken and stirring the onion mixture halfway through. While you stir, scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan to mix with the onions.
If your chicken isn’t cooked through, keep cooking with the lid on the pan, watching the onions and stirring occasionally, to ensure that nothing burns.
When the chicken is cooked through, remove it and put aside, keeping the onion mixture in the pan. Turn the heat to low.
Add the raspberries, Greek yogurt, and balsamic vinegar, stirring with a spoon to combine these ingredients and ensure they’re warmed through.
Plate the chicken and pour sauce over it.
You don’t really need a starch with this dish, but I plated it with pasta for my husband as an option.
