My first thought when i was writing the ‘about me’ section of this blog was to elaborate on how sometimes, two or three seemingly unrelated ingredients can be brought together to create a whole new phenomenon. When i was writing, i definitely had marinades in mind. Now, I’m not much of a ‘griller’ — it’s nothing bad, just a matter of practicality and patience on my part. But when I grill… oh boy. Apparently it turns into an event! Which is exactly what happened here when i bounced across just the most perfect marinade. This also happens to be the simplest recipe ever, so if you're a beginner or have two left hands in the kitchen, you'll still wow yourself. Don't you worry ;).
We all know honey and mustard are a match made in heaven. But wholegrain mustard takes the concept to a whole different level — as does the addition of garlic, smoked paprika (and I say smoked because it lets off a smokey-sweetness that works so so well under the grill, which you wouldn’t really get using plain old paprika) and a smidgen of lemon juice. A couple of years ago when I was still rigidly sticking to my recipe book rules, i doubt i would’ve used this combination - but as it happens, they’re a cloud-number-9-culinary-combination. And all always, feel free to experiment! I just find less is more where wholegrain mustard is concerned.
Now to the grill! The best thing about my grill (let me rant about this a moment) is that it so so small — which it needs to be, because of the size of my kitchen (i’m not the ‘Little Kitchen’ for nothing!) and it’s also blessedly non-stick, so there’s no need for extra oil or anything. It also has a collapsable top, so I can basically grill both sides of anything at the same time, hehe… but its all good - a regular grill works too :).
Ingredients:
500g whole chicken breasts
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
Pinch of black pepper
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Other items:
1 large zip-lock bag
Rolling pin
Method
Take one chicken breast and place it into the zip lock bag. Close it half-way, or leave it open altogether. With the rolling pin, beat down evenly onto the chicken breast until it’s about 1cm thickness. Place it on a large plate, set aside, and repeat with remaining chicken breasts.
Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl to make your marinade.
Smother each chicken breast with the marinade and set all together into a large bowl.
Cover with cling-film and leave to stand at room temperature for half an hour (or in the fridge, if leaving for a few hours - just make sure you leave it to cool at room temperature at least 1/2 an hour before grilling)
Pre-heat your grill to medium-high. Grill 2 breasts at a time, grilling for 4-5 minutes on each side (It’s okay to move it around and charr the surface a little). Repeat until all breasts are grilled.
Serve alone, with sides, or a dipping sauce of your choice.
I always save leftovers and chop them up over a salad the next day - those leftovers always come in very handy -- see below? Enjoy :)
