The Chef and I - Jamie Oliver's Spiced Chicken with Bacon and Spinach Lentils
Try this recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this recipe, or contribute your own.
- olive oil
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 x 400g tins of lentils
- 2 tomatoes
- 200 g baby spinach
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 4 heaped tbsp natural yoghurt
- 4 x skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 4 cloves garlic unpeeled
- 1 handful fresh thyme (or other fresh herb of your c tarragon would work nicely)
- 6 rashes streaky bacon
- crusty bread
- Carbohydrate 52.7394763044616 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 3.23122999955 g
- Fiber 14.1952002902031 g
- Protein 13.68914 g
- Saturated Fat 0.706748999937864 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (656g)
- Sodium 401.621239540107 mg
- Sugar 38.5442760142585 g
- Trans Fat 0.699240249987814 g
- Calories 264 calories
Step-by-step
- Peel your onion and carrot and blitz in a food processor with the rosemary
- Put a glug or two of oil in a fry pan with high sides and start sauteing
- Get a really large sheet of baking paper out on your bench. Scatter over a generous amount of salt, pepper and the paprika. Rub into the chicken all over (if you've been generous there's enough for both sides and a good rub into the chicken).
- Fold the baking paper over the top of the chicken (I told you it needed to be a big sheet) then get a rolling pin and bash it to about 1.5 cm thick. (I didn't do it thin enough so it took longer to cook for me)
- Get another fry pan on with a glug of oil then add the garlic cloves, the herbs and the chicken. Fry for about 4 minutes on each side until nicely golden and cooked through.
- Back to the veg in the other pan, add the two tins of lentils with the water they're in (ie don't drain them) and the tomatoes which you've chopped up roughly (I just blitzed them to chunky in my little mini blender as I'd already using it for the onion and carrot. Put the lid on and leave to simmer
- Roughly chop the spinach in the food processor - you don't want it pulverised so just pulse it until it's shredded but not moosh. Add to the lentils with the red wine vinegar.
- Lift the chicken out of the pan, you might need to give it a wipe down before cooking the bacon and then fry off the bacon.
- Put the lentils into a wide lipped platter (it's runny so don't go and use some flat platter contraption) and dollop over the yoghurt, give it a little swirl through.
- Cut the chicken up on an angle and place over the top then put the bacon on top of that.
- Serve with crusty bread or pitas.
Smoked Paprika and Chicken Pounding
Smoked paprika drives the flavor profile of this dish, penetrating the meat as it browns. Place chicken breasts between parchment paper and pound them to a uniform 1.5 cm thickness. Uneven poultry cooks at erratic rates, leaving thin edges dry while thick centers remain raw. Rub the spice directly onto the surface with salt and pepper before flattening to ensure maximum adhesion.
The Aromatics and Lentil Base
Blitzing the onion, carrot, and rosemary in a food processor creates a fine mirepoix that melts quickly into the oil. Pour tinned lentils directly into the pan with their canning liquid to supply the necessary cooking moisture without adding extra stock. Pulse the baby spinach gently in the machine until shredded, avoiding a pureed texture that will turn the braise watery.
Pan Management and Assembly
Fry the chicken alongside unpeeled garlic cloves and fresh herbs over medium heat for roughly four minutes per side until deeply golden. Wipe out the skillet before crisping the streaky bacon to prevent burnt residue from clinging to the pork. Spoon the runny lentil mixture onto a rimmed platter, swirl through natural yogurt, and top with sliced chicken and bacon.
