Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken Tenders, Sweet Pea Puree, Blistered Tomatoes

I’ve been watching a really great documentary series on Netflix called “The Mind of a Chef.” Anthony Bourdain narrates each 20 minute-episode, which follows the lives of outstanding chefs from around the world. It’s an amazing “behind-the-scenes look” into the creative processes that drive them on a daily basis. They talk about their inspirations, backgrounds, and common burning passion for cooking.

The last season’s second half, which I just finished today, focuses on chef Magnus Nilsson and his restaurant Fäviken in northern Sweden. Each episode was so inspiring that I couldn’t help myself from wanting to rush to my kitchen afterwards. The most striking thing, apart from the visual perfection of every dish, is the emphasis that chef Nilsson puts into balancing the tastes, colors, and textures in each plate. He plays around with earthy notes, acidity, sweetness, umami, and misterious “tasty pastes” among others… His dishes are crunchy, soft, crispy, buttery, custardy and sometimes all the above… He experiments with proportions and cooking techniques until it all clicks. Every detail counts and they all come together to create a unique tasting experience.

 

One of my main culinary goals this year, is therefore to learn how to strike a perfect balance on a single plate. I want to reach harmony in tastes, textures, and even colors. Now, this recipe is a pretty good one in that respect. Not only is it one of my favorite ways to cook chicken, but it also does a nice job at the balancing act. The ham is crispy and salty, which nicely contrasts with the tenderness of the meat, and sweetness of the fresh pea puree and sugar snap peas.

This is where most of the fun happens in cooking! It’s so exciting to experiment until a dish makes sense. I like the challenge of coming up with new recipes, as well as improving on old ones. At one point, Magnus Nilsson says that he’d close his restaurant if he ever were to stop innovating and revisiting his dishes. Most notably, the longest-standing dish on the tasting menu is one which he still constantly strives to improve. Just like him, I tried to do that with my chicken recipe. Unlike him, however, I will now proceed to eat it all! Bon appétit!

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Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 2-3 chicken tenders (or 1 chicken breast)
• 2 slices of prosciutto
• 1/2 cup of sweet peas
• olive oil
• fresh squeeze of lemon juice
• a dash of turmeric
• a dash of paprika
• a dash of cayenne pepper
• 3-4 heirloom cherry tomatoes
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3-4 sugar snap peas (garnish)

Directions:

1. Bring salted water to a boil. Cook the peas for 3-5 minutes, or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, wrap the slices of prosciutto around the tenders, and halve the cherry tomatoes. Heat some olive oil in a pan, and let the chicken sizzle for 3-4 minutes.
3. Drain the peas but reserve some cooking water. Transfer to a food processor, adding a good drizzle of olive oil, the turmeric, paprika, Cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and salt & pepper. Blend until smooth, adding cooking water as needed, but leave a few bits for texture. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
4. Flip the chicken and cook the other side for a couple more minutes. Add the halved cherry tomatoes to the pan, face down, and let them brown in the fat. Let the chicken rest on a cutting board for a couple minutes before slicing it.
5. Dress the plate starting with the pea puree. Top with the pieces of chicken and the heirloom tomatoes. Garnish with some fresh sugar snap peas, chopped parsley and a dash of black pepper. Enjoy!

“Roulade de Jambon de Parme-Blanc de Poulet, Petits Pois en Purée, Tomates Caramélisées”

Temps total: 25 minutes

Ingrédients: 

• 1 blanc de poulet (ou 2-3 aiguillettes)
• 1-2 tranche de jambon de Parme
• 1/2 tasse de petits pois
• huile d’olive
• quelques gouttes de jus de citron pressé
• une pincée de curcuma
• une pincée de paprika
• une pincée de piment de Cayenne
• 3-4 tomates cerises anciennes
• sel de mer et poivre noir fraichement moulu
• 3-4 pois mangetout écossés (optionnel)

Étapes:

1. Faites cuire les petits pois dans de l’eau bouillante salée pendant 3-5 minutes, pour qu’ils soient tendres.
2. Pendant ce temps, enroulez le jambon de parme autour du poulet, et tranchez les tomates cerises en 2. Faites chauffer de l’huile dans une poêle et laissez le blanc de poulet dorer pendant 4-5 minutes.
3. Égouttez les petits pois et réservez un peu d’eau de cuisson. Transférez les dans un mixer, avec un bon filet d’huile d’olive, le curcuma, paprika, piment de Cayenne, jus de citron, sel et poivre. Mixez jusqu’à obtenir une purée lisse, ajoutant l’eau de cuisson au besoin, mais gardez quelques morceaux pour la texture. Goutez et ajustez l’assaisonnement.
4. Retournez le poulet et faites dorer l’autre côté pendant 3 minutes environ. Ajoutez les tomates cerises, face au sol, et laissez-les brunir dans le jus du poulet. Laissez-la viande reposer sur une planche quelques minutes avant de la trancher.
5. Dressez l’assiette en commençant par la purée de pois. Ajoutez ensuite les morceaux de poulet et les tomates cerises. Garnissez avec quelques pois mangetout crus, du persil fraichement ciselé et un tour de poivre noir. Bon appétit!

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