Chicken Breasts with Provençal Vierge Sauce
These Chicken Breasts with Provençal Vierge Sauce are a delicious way to add some French flair to your menu rotation. The Vierge sauce is tangy and fresh and feels sophisticated and decadent over the grilled chicken breasts. The flavors of ripe tomatoes, fleshy olives, briny capers, rich roasted pine nuts and lemon zest complement the flavor of the chicken so well. The sauce truly transforms a classic!
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 25 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup of chives, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1/3 cup of pitted Niçois or Kalamata black olives, halved (lengthwise)
- 2 tbsps of capers (left whole if it is the small kind. If it is the full caper berry, halve or quarter depending the size)
- 1/2 cup basil, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons roasted pine nuts
- 3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 4 Chicken Breasts (I prefer Organic if at all possible)
- 1 tbsps olive oil for the chicken
Instructions
- 1
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
- 2
Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil into a non-stick pan over medium high heat
- 3
Place the chicken breasts in the pan to sear for about 10 minutes, flipping over halfway. Leave until the chicken breasts have a nice, golden brown color on each side.
- 4
Remove from heat and transfer the chicken breasts to an oven safe dish (like this Le Creuset I always use)
- 5
Set in the oven on the middle rack for approximately 15 minutes until the chicken breasts are fully cooked.
- 6
I recommend using a meat thermometer if you are unsure - the temperature inside the meat should reach 165 degrees. Cooking times can vary greatly depending on the thickness and size of the meat.
- 7
Remove chicken from the oven and allow to rest on the counter while you finish assembling your dish
- 8
Mix the shallot, green onions, chives, cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, basil, pine nuts together in a mixing bowl with the 3/4 cup of olive oil.
- 9
Zeste the lemon into the Vierge Sauce. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into the sauce using a strainer to avoid lemon seeds getting into your Vierge!
- 10
Mix and set aside.
- 11
Le Chef's note: Vierge sauce is even better made a couple hours in advance, the shallots lose their acidity when resting in the olive oil.