Weekend Brunch

I'm still away with work but really looking forward to having Sunday off. Apparently a gang of us are going to hit Victoria Secrets in the morning and then head to Sag Harbour for a bloody mary before lunch there....after a week of churning out food at work I most certainly have no intention of cooking a thing! But if you do, then this recipe is a great quick, easy and delicious weekend brunch. Enjoy!


CREAMY CHICKEN SAUTE ON GRIDDLED TOASTS


This is a quick and tasty brunch, lunch or tea time snack. It’s also a great way of using up leftover cooked chicken. I actually like to use smoked chicken breast here if it’s available but regular cooked chicken is great too. You could try using other ingredients here too like mushrooms or bacon (cooking them with the onion). You could also use wholegrain mustard instead of sundried tomato pesto and creme fraiche in place of the cream.

Serves 2

CHICKEN SAUTE

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 smoked chicken breast, torn into bite sized pieces

2 tbsp chopped mixed herbs (eg parsley, chives, sage, thyme, basil)

1 heaped tbsp sundried tomato pesto

½ tsp cayenne (optional)

100ml single cream

juice ½ lemon

TOASTS

2 tbsp olive oil

4 slices bread like foccacia or ciabatta

TO SERVE

Salad leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pop a griddle pan on the heat for the bread. While that is heating up, heat the oil in a seperate frying pan on a medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally.

Next add the chicken and herbs and saute for a further 2-3 minutes to warm through and until the chicken is just catching colour.

Meanwhile, drizzle the oil over the bread slices and place them on the griddle to cook until crisp and charred on each side.

To finish the chicken saute, reduce the heat and stir in the tomato pesto, cayenne (if using) and the cream and allow to simmer gently for 3-4 minutes until thickened. Squeeze the lemon juice over and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Arrange two griddled toasts on each serving plate and spoon the chicken saute mixture on top. Serve at once with a handful of salad leaves.