Garlic Thyme Chicken & Asparagus
with a Mustard Dressing
Seasonal, simple & swift, this meal is healthy, wholesome, and captures some of spring’s great flavours. Pastured raised Chickens are commonly harvested in spring when the Asparagus is ready to be picked, and the thyme is in full bloom making this a perfect pairing.
I use vinegar as a marinade for the chicken; the acid helps add flavour and tenderise the chicken as lemons don’t grow in spring around here in the northeastern USA; vinegar is the local, affordable & sustainable choice.
- Serves2
- Cooks in 15 - 20 mins
- Prep time 5 mins
- Low GI Blood Sugar
Recipes have blood sugar balancing and low glycemic index ingredients. A diet rich in foods that balance blood sugar helps lower risks of type 2 diabetes.
- Grain Free
Recipes are grain free. No grain diet can help reduce inflammation in people with chronic auto-immune diseases. AIP, Paleo, whole 30 some Low FODMAP diets.
- Protein
Recipes with protein-rich ingredients. Examples of high protein foods include; eggs, meat, fish, seafood, poultry, dairy, quinoa, teff, millet, wild rice, oats, buckwheat, amaranth, sorghum, wheat, nuts, seeds, hemp seeds, peas, beans, lentils, legumes, soy, tofu & tempeh, broccoli, brussels, spinach, kale, mushrooms, nutritional yeast.
- Amino Acids
- Low Carb
Low-Carb recipes have a low carbohydrate count. No sugar, no grains; no legumes, no starchy vegetables, no high sugar fruits or milk.
Ingredients
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Method
Garlic Thyme Chicken with Asparagus
PREHEAT OVEN 400F | 200C
ON the chopping board, finely chop | lightly crush together garlic + thyme + salt = salt will help break down the garlic.
BOWL add oil + vinegar + black pepper + chopped garlic thyme + chicken breasts (wash them & pat them dry if you wish) turn chicken pieces to coat well. Ideally, marinate for at least 30mins to overnight; you can cook immediately.
HEAT oven-proof skillet or frying pan until hot. Add seasoned chicken breast flat side | skin-side down. Cook 4-5 min until golden brown.
TURN Chicken Breasts – flat side | skin side up – place skillet in preheated oven – oven roast 7-12 mins depending on how thick your chicken breasts are until cooked through. If an instant-read or skewer-style thermometer is your thing, insert it into the breast’s thickest part should read 165F | 75C.
REMOVE skillet from oven with a glove on the handle. Place chicken on a plate to rest covered – I use 2 plates – 1 upside down resting on top of the other.
ASPARAGUS
WIPE or rinse the pan you cooked the chicken in – keep the glove on the handle – return the skillet to the stove-ttop heat until hot.
WASH trimmed asparagus quickly and shake off excess water & add to the pan with a drizzle of oil + sprinkle of salt. Leave spears to sear for 1-2 minutes on each side until they start to soften and get a nice pan-seared colour. Turn off heat.
PLATE
Serve pan-seared asparagus spears + chicken breast, garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme & drizzle with Mustard dressing. Serve alongside new potatoes or a spring baby green salad
Chef tips + Ingredient Swaps + Ideas
Salmonella is largely found in Raw Chicken and undercooked chicken. Cross-contamination with kitchen surfaces + equipment can cause illnesses; it is important to be vigilant when handling raw chicken. Use a dedicated raw meat chopping board. You can rinse chicken breasts in an empty sink after removing the packaging if you want. Pat them dry.
To ME > ORGANIC PASTURE-RAISED means that the Chickens are raised on a small farm, and they go outside every day to graze. They are not kept in tiny cages or jammed in huge numbers in giant barns & are not injected with or feed growth hormones or chemicals.
To ME > Organic pasture-raised chicken costs more because it reflects the true cost of what it takes to thoughtfully raise and harvest chickens and honour the animal’s natural growth cycle.
I am a farmers daughter “Cheap Chicken” scares me because health, welfare, + the environment are compromised, and as far as taste goes well, that is deeply lacking. When you shop, cook & eat, you vote for what you care about with your $$ + fork!
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