Chicken with sun-dried tomato. A dish that used to be on every menu. A fad that came and went. It’s too bad. Sun-dried tomatoes are a great ingredient. Little tomato flavour bombs in whatever dish they’re used in.

I’ve seen sun-dried tomatoes starting to appear on some of the bigger food blogs. Maybe they are coming back. Maybe it’s retro-cool. I don’t really care why – I’m just happy it’s happening. Winters are long in the north. Fresh tomatoes are a shadow of their summer splendour. Not really worth eating. Sun-dried tomatoes though – they work year round. A blast from the past.

Chicken with sun-dried tomato cream sauce. It's a blast from the past! - 1

Chicken with sun-dried tomato cream sauce goes nicely with fried gnocchi .

Chicken with sun-dried tomato cream sauce. It's a blast from the past! - 2

chicken with sun-dried tomato cream sauce

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken thighs - bone-in, skin-on
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes julienned
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup parmegiano reggiano fresh grated
  • 1 Tbsp basil julienned
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper

Instructions

  • Pre-heat your oven to 400F. Pre-heat a skillet or small roasting pan while you are at it. A hot pan will keep the chicken from sticking.
  • Rub the chicken thighs with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Place chicken in the pre-heated pan. Return the pan to the oven and roast the chicken to an internal temperature of 170F, about 30 minutes.
  • Remove chicken and spoon off all but one Tbsp of visible fat, being careful not to spoon off any brown fond (those brown bits and juices in the pan).
  • Place skillet over medium-low heat.
  • Add garlic and stir. Cook garlic about 20 seconds.
  • Add sun-dried tomatoes and cook another 10 seconds.
  • Raise heat to medium high and add a splash of chicken stock. Stir constantly, scraping up the brown bits to dissolve.
  • Add remaining stock and bring to a simmer.
  • Add heavy cream and warm until the sauce begins to simmer.
  • Stir in the parmesan and remove from heat.
  • Spoon sauce over and around chicken thighs, garnish with basil and serve.

Notes

Chicken with sun-dried tomato cream sauce. It's a blast from the past! - 3

chicken with sun-dried tomato cream sauce

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken thighs - bone-in, skin-on
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes julienned
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup parmegiano reggiano fresh grated
  • 1 Tbsp basil julienned
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper

Instructions

  • Pre-heat your oven to 400F. Pre-heat a skillet or small roasting pan while you are at it. A hot pan will keep the chicken from sticking.
  • Rub the chicken thighs with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Place chicken in the pre-heated pan. Return the pan to the oven and roast the chicken to an internal temperature of 170F, about 30 minutes.
  • Remove chicken and spoon off all but one Tbsp of visible fat, being careful not to spoon off any brown fond (those brown bits and juices in the pan).
  • Place skillet over medium-low heat.
  • Add garlic and stir. Cook garlic about 20 seconds.
  • Add sun-dried tomatoes and cook another 10 seconds.
  • Raise heat to medium high and add a splash of chicken stock. Stir constantly, scraping up the brown bits to dissolve.
  • Add remaining stock and bring to a simmer.
  • Add heavy cream and warm until the sauce begins to simmer.
  • Stir in the parmesan and remove from heat.
  • Spoon sauce over and around chicken thighs, garnish with basil and serve.

Notes

Massaging the kale and a bit of tahini and honey in the dressing are the secrets to this healthy asian kale salad. A big handful of cilantro lends a nice bright note.

Other than massaging the kale it’s easy enough. Grate some carrot, chop some red pepper, slice some shallot and chop some cilantro. Mix up a simple vinaigrette and you have an easy asian kale salad. It’s even healthy I suppose. You can play with this recipe to match whatever looks good to you. Green onion, edamame, mint, green chilies, sunflower seeds. Whatever you want.

Kale salad with a tahini lime soy dressing. - 4 Lime, soy and tahini dress this healthy kale salad. - 5

asian kale salad

Ingredients

Asian Kale Salad

  • 1 small head kale
  • 1/2 red pepper diced
  • 1 carrot grated
  • 1 shallot thinly sliced into rings

Dressing

  • 1 tsp tahini
  • 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp fresh lime juice - from half a lime
  • 2 Tbsp neutral oil canola or vegetable
  • 1 tsp honey
  • A few grinds of black pepper

Instructions

Prep the kale

  • Use a sharp knife to remove the tough stems from the kale and discard. Chop the kale into small pieces. Add a bit of salt, mix and grab a handful of salted kale. Rub between your hands until the colour turns noticeably darker. Put the rubbed kale into a different bowl (or back onto the cutting board). Grab the next handful and repeat until all the kale has been massaged. Return kale to the bowl if it’s on the cutting board.

Make the dressing

  • Spoon the tahini into a small bowl, add the rice wine vinegar and stir to combine. Add the soy and sesame oil and stir again. Incorporate the remaining dressing ingredients.

Make the salad

  • Mix the kale with the rest of the salad ingredients, toss with vinaigrette and serve. This asian kale salad is quite sturdy and will keep for a few hours if needed.