Chicken in Creamed Spinach Sauce
Cook Notes
BBQ Used: Weber 57cm Kettle
Cooking Method: Direct (in Petromax 35cm skillet)
Fuel used: Weber Briquettes
Cooking Temperature: Medium - High Heat
Ingredients
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 small onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
250g spinach leaves
300ml double cream
1 heaped tbsp sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup grated parmesan
Salt & Pepper to season
For the Rub
1 tbsp fine sea salt
1/2 tbsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp paprika
1/4 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp dried thyme
1/2 tbsp dried rosemary
1/2 tbsp dried parsley
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
pinch of cayenne pepper
Method
Fire up your BBQ and set it up for 2 zone cooking with the coals pushed to one side of the BBQ. Place a skillet over the coals to pre-heat. I used my Petromax 35cm skillet to give me plenty of room to cook off the chicken. Place each chicken breast into a ziplock bag and pound them out flat - this will help them cook more evenly. Once you have your chicken prepared, mix the ingredients together for the rub and season the chicken on all sides.
Add a small amount of oil to the skillet and add the chicken breasts to sear on both sides. When they reach an internal temperature of around 72c, lift them off and leave them to the side. We will be slicing them and adding them back to the sauce later.
To start off the sauce, add a little more oil to the skillet if required and add your diced onion. Saute the onion for 3-4 minutes until it starts to soften then add your garlic to cook off. After a few minutes, add the 250g of spinach to the skillet and close the lid of your BBQ. The spinach will only take a few minutes to wilt then you can start building your sauce. Add the cream, sour cream and lemon juice and mix it through the spinach. Season with a little salt and pepper then allow the sauce to simmer for 5 minutes or so to thicken slightly.
while your sauce is simmering, you can cut your chicken into strips to add back into the sauce. You can serve the chicken breasts whole with the sauce spooned over the top but I think it adds an extra level of flavour if the chicken and sauce get to dance together for a little while in the skillet. Add the sliced chicken back into the sauce along with the grated parmesan. give everything another 5 minutes to mingle together and warm through then it's time to serve up!
I served this with some pan fried potatoes. they are really simple to make. Peel some potatoes and cut them into large chunks to speed up the boiling process. Add them to a pot of boiling water and allow them to become completely tender. Strain off the water and allow the potatoes to cool completely. Dice up the cooled potatoes into smaller cubes then add them to a hot skillet, drizzled with a little oil. toss them around from time to time to crisp up those edges and when you are happy with the colour - add a large knob of butter to the pan along with a dusting of garlic powder. Toss the potatoes in the butter and garlic then serve!
