I have been cooking for my husband for many many years but me it's not very often that he eats something and asks me when I am going to put it up on the blog. This dish was one of those. With the diet and health regimen we have adopted in the last few months, several meals are an experiment. There is a lot of reading and learning from other cooks and bloggers involved and often it is just remembering something good I ate and trying to make it more healthy this time around. This dish has been inspired by a meal I had with a good friend of mine in Singapore. She had prepared lunch for me on that day - chicken drumsticks baked with a honey mustard sauce.
I had also been trying recipes for chicken baked in mustard or grilled chicken served with a Dijon mustard sauce from Pam Anderson's book "The Perfect Recipe for Eating Great and Losing Weight". But something seemed amiss in all recipes from Pam's book. And then it struck me one day - why I had loved the chicken recipe served by my friend. That chicken was marinated in whole grain mustard and not fine Dijon mustard. The whole grain mustard gave it an amazing freshness and flavour. Now I am not a big fan of honey or even brown sugar in my marinades so I decided to experiment with mustard and other flavours I would like to use to marinade chicken breasts. So I went ahead with fresh ginger and garlic, spring onions chopped and chopped fresh coriander leaves. After making a couple of batches, I discovered that the best mustard flavour came through when I used a combination of whole grain mustard and fine Dijon mustard.
I also figured out that the best way to get the mustard flavour into the chicken was to cut it into thin wide slices such that the chicken gets coated completely with the mustard and is flavoured all the way through. I prepare the marinade and leave the cut chicken into it for a few minutes to let it absorb the flavours. I then put it in a pre heated oven at 350F/180C and bake for 15 minutes. And its ready to serve. The flavour of the whole mustard is simply amazing and every bite has a crunch of freshness from the mustard seeds. There is no oil used in the marinade and the chicken is still tender and delicious.
On the side, you can serve this with pasta, rice, steamed or roasted vegetables or even just a hearty salad. The sides I prepare are usually steamed or roasted vegetables or even combining steamed veggies with fresh herbs, tomatoes or bell peppers. In this case I steamed fresh broccoli and combined it with sautéed mushrooms. Even though it may not seem like there is a lot of choice in side dishes that are healthy, the options are a lot. I'll share the sides gradually as well. For now, its the star chicken recipe - oven roasted mustard chicken, ready in 30 minutes!
Mustard Chicken
Ingredients:
2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup spring onions (finely chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Slice the chicken into thin wide strips.
2. In a bowl combine all ingredients above except the chicken breast strips. Mix well. Add the chicken and leave to marinade for 5 minutes.
3. Line a glass/ceramic baking dish with aluminium foil. This is just to facilitate easy cleanup.
4. Put the chicken in a single layer in the baking dish. Bake uncovered for 15-18 minutes. Check and if needed, cook for another 2-3 minutes.
5. When the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven and let it rest 2-3 minutes. Serve hot with sides of your choice.
Steamed Broccoli with Sautéed Mushrooms
Ingredients:
1 cup white mushrooms, sliced
1 head broccoli, divided into florets (steamed)
1 tsp chopped fresh garlic
2 tablespoons fresh chopped spring onion (white part)
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp spice mix of your choice (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Put a pan over medium high heat, add the oil and when it becomes a little hot, add the mushrooms, garlic and thyme. Let it cook till the mushrooms are golden.
2. Add the steamed broccoli and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add the spice mix, salt, pepper and spring onions, toss to coat till the seasonings are well combined. Serve hot with chicken.
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