Guaranteed to make family & friends swoon
Marry me chicken will have everyone on bended knee, it’s that good!
SERVES: 4
PREP TIME: 10 mins
COOKING TIME: 35 mins
DIFFICULTY: easy
IDEAL FOR: family meal, easy meal, crowd-pleaser
BUDGET: £
I’ve never heard of it.
But it intrigued me and so I did a little more investigating.
What is Marry Me Chicken?
In a nutshell, chicken breasts are sauteed in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.
Then cooked in a sundried tomato cream sauce made with garlic, fresh thyme, red pepper flakes, cream, parmesan cheese and served with fresh basil.
Inspired by Sicilian chicken recipes, it’s definitely a crowd-pleaser.
And the best news is… it can be whipped up in 30 minutes.
Winner-winner-chicken-dinner!!
What’s with the name, ‘Marry Me Chicken’?
In 2018, Delish, posted this recipe.
The publication’s editor asked colleagues to do a taste test.
And as the story goes, after the first bite, someone exclaimed ‘I’d marry you for that chicken!’.
The rest is history.
And there are other versions out there.
But this creamy-sundried-tomatoey-garlicky-chicken recipe may just get more people on bended knee than any other.
Engagement chicken
OK, so there’s more.
Engagement chicken is a herby, lemony flavoured roast chicken.
But I’ve recently posted my favourite roast chicken dish, Jonathon Waxman’s roast chicken with salsa verde.
And that (in my opinion) is hands down, one of the best roast chickens to serve up.
So, what’s with the name, ‘Engagement Chicken’?
It should be no surprise that it was born from another publication.
And this story goes…
That in 1982, an editor in Glamour’s fashion department gave her assistant a recipe for the most delicious roast chicken she’s ever had!
The assistant cooked it for her boyfriend.
Whom, you guessed it, proposed a month later.
The assistant then handed the recipe to other colleagues to try.
And, you guessed it, more proposals came about.
In January 2004 issue of Glamour, the recipe was published and “Engagement Chicken” was born.
Since then, dozens of marriage proposals have given cred to this recipe.
But personally, Jonathon Waxman’s recipe will get you engaged and married.
(If that’s a current goal)
Or just impress family and friends with its awesome flavours.
‘Divorce Me Chicken’
I’m joking!
Some tweaks to Marry Me Chicken
So, if you aren’t a big fan of sun-dried tomatoes and their tangy kick.
Feel free to use fresh tomatoes instead.
But the dish will lack that tangy zing that will make people think you’ve laboured over this dish for hours.
This dish would go nicely with rice, sitting on a bed of pasta and/or with some green beans.
If you have any twist on this dish or know any funny little backstories to a dish, drop me a line.
Marry Me Chicken
Equipment
- Oven proof frying pan or a deep pan that can be used for frying and placed in oven
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 6 chicken breasts
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup double cream
- 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190 C/395 F
- In a large frying pan, heat the oil on a medium-high heat. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place (skin-side down) to cook until golden brown (approx 4-5mins each side).Once done, transfer to a plate with half the juices from the pan.
- Now, in the pan and on a medium heat, add the garlic, thyme, and chilli flakes. Cook until fragrant, (approx 1 min) then stir in the broth, double cream, sun-dried tomatoes, and Parmesan.Season with more salt if needed.Bring to a simmer and return the chicken to the pan, skin-side up.
- Lastly, place your oven proof pan into the oven and bake until chicken is cooked through (juices clear) , approx 15 – 20 mins.Garnish with basil and serve.
