Lately I have been making two more involved meals a week for dinner and everything else has been super easy. I only want to make things on the easy nights that don’t require a recipe. This lemon-herb chicken with blueberry sauce was a more involved recipe that felt like something I would get at a restaurant. In other words, it’s worth the effort.
This recipe is adapted from a recipe in the June 2015 issue of Cooking Light magazine titled “Lemon-herb chicken skewers with blueberry balsamic salsa.” I thought it was in an improper use of the word salsa, so I changed the title. It was originally meant to be skewers on a grill, but I don’t have a grill, so I diced the chicken and cooked it on the stove in a skillet.
Lemon-herb chicken with blueberry-balsamic sauce
Yield: 4 servings
Blueberry-balsamic sauce
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt, divided
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, each cut into 6 pieces (about 1 pound each)
1 cup blueberries, divided
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp honey
2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
1 tsp minced jalapeno pepper
Drop garlic through food chute with food processor on; process until chopped. Add parsley and next 6 ingredients (through black pepper); process until finely chopped. Add 1/8 teaspoon salt; pulse to combine. Combine herb mixture and chicken in a medium bowl; toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Wipe out food processor.
Combine 1/2 cup blueberries, vinegar, and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, and cook 10 minutes or until thickened, pressing with a spoon to break up blueberries. Place blueberry mixture in a medium bowl. Add remaining 1/2 cup blueberries to food processor; pulse 5 times. Combine chopped blueberries, 1/8 teaspoon salt, onion, and jalapeño pepper with vinegar mixture.
Preheat skillet to medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook chicken for about 4 minutes on each side. You may have to do this in two batches so as not to crowd the pan. Serve with blueberry salsa.
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