At the heart of all good food is the successful combination of the elementary tastes: sour, salt, savory, bitter, and sweet. But why does a squeeze of lemon make grilled fish taste so sweet, and a grating of Parmesan cheese make minestrone soup seem intensely savory? Once you understand how and why basic combinations work, you will instinctively begin to create delicious meals.
Grilled Chicken with Tomato, Basil and Olive Sauce
Recipe from:
Taste
by Sybil Kapoor, Photographs by David Loftus Cookbook Heaven at
Recipelink.com
The olive oil adds a delicate bitterness to this dish that is reinforced by the olives and lemon zest. There are myriad variations — the olives can be replaced by broiled, slightly bitter zucchini, fresh herbs or sweet roasted pepper. This sauce is wonderful with any grilled meat or fish.
Servings: 4
12 tablespoons good, peppery extra virgin olive oil
zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
2 small cloves of garlic, finely diced
2 tablespoons finely sliced basil leaves
4 boneless chicken breasts, skinned
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 medium tomatoes, peeled and quartered
10 large green olives, pitted
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Make the marinade by mixing together 4 tablespoons of olive oil with the lemon zest, halt the garlic arid half the basil, Put the rest of the garlic and basil n a separate bowl with 8 tablespoons of olive oil for the sauce
Trim the chicken breasts of any fat and remove their fillets. Place each breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and gently beat with a rolling pin until they form 4 thin escalopes. Mix into the marinade with the fillets and season with black pepper. Cover and chi until needed.
Place a strainer over the bowl of basil oil. Cut away the tomato seeds, dropping them into the sieve. Strain the tomato juice into the bowl, sieving out the seeds. Cut the tomato flesh and olives into strips. and add to the bow. Season with lemon juice salt and pepper If the tomatoes are very acidic you may not need lemon juice.
Preheat a stovetop grill pan over a medium high heat. Once hot cook the chicken for 4 minutes on each side. Serve with the sauce spooned over each breast.
