How to elevate the humble chicken breast to new flavoured heights

Give this tender chicken recipe a try at home, and visit bealesgourmet.com/blog to watch Tony put the dish together. Simple and delicious!

Serves 4 people

• 4 x 6/7oz free range chicken breasts with the skin on
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1kg fresh broad bean pods
• 250g vine-ripened cherry tomatoes
• 1kg Maris Piper potatoes
• 500g Jerusalem artichokes
• 100g butter
• 1 shallot
• 5 cloves garlic
• 250ml double cream
• 250ml chicken stock
• 175ml white wine (Chardonnay)
• Herbs for decoration (purple basil)
• 1 bunch fresh sage  

Trim the fat off the chicken, remove the breast bone and keep the skin on. Marinate the chicken in olive oil, crushed garlic, fresh thyme and chopped sage for 24 hours in the fridge before cooking.

When you are ready to cook the chicken, simply grill the skin on a hot grill pan until golden brown, turn over and grill the other side and pop in the oven until cooked. If you have a temperature probe cook the thickest part of the breast to 72 degrees Celsius, leave to rest for 5 minutes, cut and serve up. If you do not have a temperature probe, the chicken should be firm to the touch when cooked.

Make a smooth, creamy mash potato and infuse the cream and butter with the sage storks before adding it to the potatoes.

Make a puree from the artichokes, by peeling, washing and simmering until soft. Do not use too much cooking juice when making the puree otherwise the puree will be too runny. Season to taste.

With a pair of scissors, cut 15 cherry tomatoes from the vine and leave on the stork for decoration. Season with salt, pepper, olive oil and chopped sage and gently roast in the oven until blistered.

Pod the broad beans and blanch in boiling salted water for 1 minute. Refresh in iced water and pop from the husk. Reheat the prepared broad beans with a knob of butter in the microwave when you are ready to plate up. Season to taste before serving.

For the sauce, chop the shallot and a clove of garlic and sweat off until soft with some sage storks and fresh thyme. Add the white wine and reduce (we use an oaked Chardonnay). Then add the chicken stock and reduce by half. Add the cream and reduce until the right consistency of the sauce is achieved. Add a squeeze of lemon juice. You don’t want the sauce too thick, so pass through a fine sieve and season to taste.