"Hmm, I could really go for some Balsamic Chicken," I thought to myself one day as I quickly looked through my kitchen to see what ingredients I had on hand. I didn't have what I needed for my Pomegranate Balsamic Chicken but I had enough to hopefully make something delicious. I also only had a pack of bone-in split chicken breasts and drumsticks so I knew my typical method of cooking on the stove top wasn't going to work. Lo and behold, this recipe was born and it was so incredibly delicious. The fresh lime at the end adds a subtle zing that I loved. Isabelle, my almost 2 year old, also couldn't stop asking for more.
BALSAMIC LIME ROASTED CHICKEN
Recipe Ingredients
About 4 lbs of bone-in chicken pieces (I used 2 split breasts and 4 drumsticks)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 TSP salt
1 TSP pepper
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 lime, juiced
Chopped fresh basil, to garnish
Recipe Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Prepare marinade by whisking together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, and rosemary.
- In a large baking dish or roasting pan, add your chicken pieces. Pour marinade over chicken and toss to coat.
- Roast the chicken uncovered for about 45 minutes, until just cooked through.
- Carefully transfer the chicken to a clean plate and again, very carefully pour the remaining cooking liquid left in the pan into a small saucepan. If you have a lot of excess oil, you'll want to skim from the top.
- Add in the juice from one lime and boil until the sauce reduces by about half and thickens to coat the back of a spoon. This can take about 6-8 minutes.
- Pour the balsamic lime reduction over the chicken and sprinkle with fresh basil.
Enjoy!
Until next time,
SMP
If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen me post a meal earlier this week where I added bits of coconut butter on top of a tomato sauce based dish. It looked like melted cheese and although the combo may sound weird, I couldn't believe how much I loved it. This spur of the moment decision got my wheels turning and this Coconut Marinara Chicken recipe was born.
This chicken recipe is really easy, as long as you have the right ingredients. You will want to find a clean marinara sauce (no added sugar or funky ingredients) or use your own recipe. I usually use
this one from Wegmans or
this one I found at Costco.
And then of course, you will need coconut butter. This is not coconut milk, cream, or oil. Just pureed coconut flesh. My favorite brand is
Artisana's
which I can usually find at TJMAXX. I also like
Nutiva's
brand, which I'm also able to find at my local Wegmans.
Trust me - the combination of the marinara and the coconut butter is decadently delicious. While I used the coconut marinara to top chicken in this recipe, it goes amazingly over spaghetti squash or mixed in with ground beef or pork. Try it and let me know what you think!
Coconut Marinara Chicken Recipe
Recipe Ingredients:
For the Coconut Marinara Sauce
2 cups marinara sauce (no sugar added)
For the Chicken
1-1.5 pounds of boneless chicken thighs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Toppings:
More coconut butter (because, why not?)
Fresh cilantro
Recipe Directions:
1. Warm a cast iron pan over medium heat.
2. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper on both sides.
3. Melt enough ghee to coat your pan and pan fry chicken thighs for about 5 minutes per side.
4. While your chicken thighs are frying up, in a small sauce pan warm up marinara sauce on medium low. Once warmed, add coconut butter and stir until melted and completely combined.
5. After the initial browning step of the chicken in step 3, lower heat to medium low, and cook an additional 10 mins or so, until chicken is fully cooked. (Juices run clear, internal temp of 165)
6. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from pan and let chicken rest for about 5 minutes on a plate. Spoon the creamy coconut marinara sauce over the chicken and top with more bits of coconut butter and fresh cilantro.
7. Enjoy!
XOXO,
SMP
Two thirds of the way complete with our Whole30! Again, I say it has been so easy this time around! I'm taking advantage that our little Belle is asleep so I'm keeping this post short and sweet. May the pictures speak for themselves.
WHOLE30 EATS: Days 11-20
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| I made a fresh batch of ghee! |
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| 2 eggs with avocado and tomato salad |
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| Not the best pictures, but chicken wings, tostones, and avocado - YUM. |
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| A very random concoction on a very busy day: avocado, tomatoes, red onion, chicken sausage, and olive oil |
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| Keeping it simple with some scrambled eggs with coconut milk and dried tarragon |
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| A delicious meal I made by accident: Walnut Pesto Ground Pork Salad |
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| 2 hardboiled eggs drizzled with the walnut pesto sauce I'm currently obsessed with eating |
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| Sara's Chicken |
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| I decided to make a big batch of chicken breasts for emergency protein. They were simply seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked in the cast iron skillet in some ghee. |
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| Some of that emergency protein with roasted butternut squash and rutabaga and of course, the walnut pesto sauce. |
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| Horrible picture, but some more of that emergency protein with some organic marinara sauce |
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| A big pile of food: sweet plantains, chicken sausage, and an avocado |
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| Bacalao con Guineos: Salted Cod with Plantains. Recipe coming soon. |
Yum.
I learned how to cook by watching my Mami. For as long as I can remember, I was always with her in the kitchen, standing on a stool or sitting on the counter, watching her every move. We would often pretend to be hosting a cooking show and would talk through the steps of the meal we were creating to our imaginary audience. We were pretty awesome, my Mami and me.
When I could finally reach the stove without the help of a stool, I was in charge of making dinner for our family about once or twice a week. The first official meal I was taught how to make was pollo al horno or simply, baked chicken. Now my mother NEVER cooked from a recipe. It was always a little bit of this and a little bit of that, a taste test here and there, and of course an extra dash of something - just in case. I did know the usual ingredients in her baked chicken, so I started experimenting with my own adaptations, until 15+ years later I've landed on my own version of pollo al horno, which is now just called "Sara's Chicken."
This is my go-to chicken recipe and I make it at least twice a week. I'm sure every Puerto Rican family has a version of this chicken as well, but it has always been a big hit with my non-Puerto Rican family and friends. I've been asked for the recipe for a very long time, but it's just always been so hard to put together. I still make this chicken without measuring and it comes out a little bit different every time. There are some nights when I'm a little off and some nights when my husband licks the plate clean. But I guarantee it's always yummy.
So today is your lucky day. The last couple of times that I've made this chicken, I've been trying to take note of how much of everything I use so that I could share at least a base recipe with all of you. I would like to disclose that this is still just a guess. I leave it up to you to tweak this recipe to fit your palate and to also use your own culinary instincts. If you think it would be delicious with a little extra of something else - be my guest. Go wherever the wind leads you!
Now, onto the recipe!
Sara's Chicken AKA Pollo al Horno
Recipe Ingredients:
- 2-3 pounds of chicken (any cut, or even a whole chicken)
- 5-6 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup of water
- 2 capfuls of white vinegar
- 1 TBSP of homemade adobo (or store-bought Goya)
- 1/2 TBSP of homemade sazon (or 1 packet of store-bought Goya)
- 1 TSP of dried oregano
- 1/2 TSP of ground pepper
- 1 handful of fresh Italian parsley
- pinch of salt (if needed after taste test, see below)
Recipe Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven. (*See Step 5 below for temperature and cooking times depending on cut of chicken). Combine all ingredients, minus the chicken, into a food processor and process until a smooth marinade is created.
TIME OUT: Up until I got my efficient little Ninja processor, I used the old school pilón (mortar and pestle). The one pictured below was handmade in Puerto Rico and was given to me by my grandmother. I still use it when I have more time on my hands and I want to feel authentic :)
TIME IN!
Step 2: Once combined, taste the marinade before you put it on the chicken. Does it need a little extra pinch of salt? Pepper? Sazon? Parsley? Add it! Don't be afraid.
Step 3: Pour marinade over chicken. Today, I used chicken tenderloins since my goal was to use these to make quick salads and wraps throughout the week.
Step 4: Using tongs, toss until well coated. Or if you don't mind dirty hands, rub it with your bare (clean) hands. That's the way I used to do it until I got engaged and I didn't want my ring to get dirty. Mami is convinced that it tastes better when you massage the chicken with a little bit of love.
Step 5: Cover with aluminum foil and bake until done.
*Temperature and Approximate Cooking Time:
Chicken Tenderloins - 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until done
Chicken wings, drumsticks, bone in thighs - 375 degrees for 1 hour or until done
Whole chicken - 375 degrees for 1 1/2 hours -2 hours or until done
Step 6: Uncover, flip (optional), and bake an additional 5-10 minutes or until golden brown. Since I didn't want the chicken breast tenderloins to get dry, I only cooked uncovered for 5 minutes. Typically, I let it go uncovered for 7-10 minutes so it gets a nice little crust, especially if you're cooking chicken with skin. Yum.
Step 7: ENJOY! After the chicken is nice and brown, remove from the oven, let rest for a few minutes and plate your meal!
As I mentioned earlier, this is a standard seasoning base that I use all the time, with many different types of chicken parts. Here are a few examples:
Adding peeled, cut potatoes right at the beginning of the baking process is ALWAYS a good idea. The potatoes soak up all of the flavors of the marinade and will be amazingly delicious. I do this often.
Chicken wings are also pretty popular around here. This particular night I paired it with some roasted spaghetti squash and drizzled some of the chicken sauce from the pan over the squash. SO. GOOD.
And of course, the whole chicken. If you're making a whole chicken, I would probably double the recipe of the marinade and bake the chicken breast side down. This allows the breast to bake in the marinade and get REALLY juicy. Oh and if you didn't notice, the picture above is a raw whole chicken. It looked a little bit more appetizing after being in the oven for almost 2 hours. :)
So there you have it. Please try this recipe and leave your thoughts in the comments below. Hope you love it as much as we do!
Oh and this seasoning blend goes well with pork too!
XOXO,
SMP
, for frying 
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