Olive Oil Poached Chicken Breast

MOIST, SLOW-POACHED CHICKEN BREAST ENRICHED WITH OLIVE OIL AND DASHED WITH BLACK PEPPER. SIMPLE, FRESH BALSAMIC SALAD. TORCHED BRIE OVER HONEY. LEMON WEDGES AND WHOLE-LEAF BASIL.

In 95% of cooked dishes, “color equals flavor”, meaning that the best flavor comes from the deliciously crispy, golden-brown crust that gives each bite traces of hundreds of different flavors through perhaps the most famous chemical reaction in the culinary world – the Maillard reaction. Other than in meats, the Maillard reaction also gives us fries, caramelized onions, classic caramel, and freshly baked bread.

But there’s much to appreciate in the other 5%, like the simplicity and the clean taste of fresh ingredients. In this dish, the chicken is seasoned with nothing more than salt from the water, pepper, and olive oil. It’s amazingly moist because it’s poached gently and allowed to soak in some of the olive oil as it chills. This recipe is really about the technique for the poached chicken, but we included our choice of sides, too, which are also lightly seasoned to let the flavors of the main ingredients shine and meld with each other. I hope you give this technique a try, and perhaps inspire even more interesting ideas! – Boo

Servings: 2 (small courses)
Difficulty: 

Poached chicken:

• 2 chicken breast halves (or 1 chicken breast, halved into cutlets)
• Poaching liquid
  4 c water
  1 tb salt
• 2-3 tb olive oil
• Seasoning
  black pepper
  olive oil

1. In a saucepan, bring water and salt to just under a simmer. Add chicken to poach, keeping water just under a simmer, until cooked through, 9-12 minutes.
2. Remove chicken onto a plate, and drizzle olive oil over chicken. Wrap plate in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, 30-45 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare sides.
3. Thinly slice chicken, and season to taste.

Sides:

• Salad
  1 roma tomato, diced
  0.5 c cucumber, diced
  1 tb balsamic vinegar
  0.25 ts salt
• Torched brie
  2 brie wedges
  2 tb honey
• Garnish
  4 lemon wedges
  2 basil leaves
  olive oil

1. Stir salad ingredients together, and set aside.
2. Bake or torch brie over the honey until softened.
3. Garnish plate as desired, and serve with poached chicken breast.