Chicken, Sweet Potato and Yam with Chimichurri
Just made a mighty tasty meal. It hit the spot after my swimming workout earlier today (which included a dip in the jacuzzi and one pass through the water slide). Tonight was another off-the-cuff monchef session. I knew I was going to make chicken breasts, and when I got home, I saw shallots, onions, a lemon and parsley. Perfect ingredients for a marinade quickly prepared in a food processor. I’ve seen many interpretations of chimichurri, so I’m not sure what the traditional Argentinian recipe calls for, but I think they all have the following in common: olive oil, red wine vinegar, cilantro, parsley, oregano and garlic. Sometimes, you’ll also see shallots and/or onions, thyme and cumin.
I used everything except cilantro (didn’t have) and cumin, and I also added lemon zest and the juice of half a lemon. I don’t measure when I cook, so I can’t give you exact numbers. I started with olive oil until it formed a small layer at the bottom of my Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus DLC-2A food processor. Then I added a few splashes of red wine vinegar, several handfuls of flat-leaf parsley, a few cracks of mediterranean salt, a lot of cracked black pepper, a dash or two of red pepper flakes, a few shakes of dried oregano and thyme, a medium shallot, half a yellow onion, 2 garlic cloves, and the zest and juice of half a lemon. I processed until everything was incorporated into a thin paste.
I then cut up the boneless chicken breasts into small cubes, seasoned with cracked mediterranean salt and black pepper, then poured half of the chimichurri and worked it in the chicken in a glass bowl. I covered the bowl with seran wrap and let chill in the fridge while I rinsed and peeled 1 sweet potato and 1 yam. I cut the potatoes into thin rounds, coated them with the rest of the marinade, and placed them on a baking sheet covered with foil. I baked them in a 400-degree oven for about 15 minutes and then let them sit in the oven while I cooked the chicken in a frying pan over medium heat (chicken went directly in the dry pan since it was already oiled up).
Sorry, no pictures this time. I was too hungry.
