German Rosemary & Honey Chicken
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When it comes to my heritage, you’d find a healthy mix of Irish-Scottish-Germanish in my blood. And with my mother’s maiden name of “Simpson” and my father’s last name of “Berger” it’s pretty hard to argue that we came from anywhere else. The only problem with my ‘heritage’ is that apparently no one in my immediate line of ancestry got the cooking gene – I was adopted into the family at birth, so I know I didn’t get it from any of them!
In fact, this challenge was especially difficult because my family, unlike many others, doesn’t exactly embrace our heritage as something that is super important – occasionally at Christmas we’ll have sausage and kielbasa alongside the rest of the Christmas feast, but it’s never been something the meal is specially about. After doing some research on traditional Scottish, Irish, and German foods, I decided to go with a simple and rustic sweet citrus and herb chicken breast that could be enjoyed regardless of where we say we hail from.
Begin by searing the chicken breasts on both sides until they are nice and browned. Then remove them from the pan and place in a covered roasting dish. Leave the dripping from the chicken in the pan to help form the sauce.
I merely whisked together the honey, lemon, and rosemary, then poured the sauce into the pan with a touch of extra butter and brought to a simmer.
While the sauce is thickening, arrange pierogies in the roasting dish alongside the chicken. I didn’t make mine from scratch, unfortunately, but I definitely plan on tackling my own pieorgi recipe sometime in the future, so be on the lookout! When the sauce has thickened up some, pour it over the chicken and pierogies, then pop the roasting dish, covered, into the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
The best part about this dish is that it’s so simple, it’s pretty difficult to mess it up. So if anyone in my immediate family is looking to embrace their inner heritage, try this dish out!
German Rosemary & Honey Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- ¼ cup local honey
- 5 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 3 tablespoons garlic mincd
- 4 tablespoons butter
- salt & pepper to taste
- frozen pierogies optional, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter until just browning. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Add the chicken breasts to the skillet with the butter and sear on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side, until browned.
- Remove the chicken from the skillet and place into a roasting dish. Arrange the pierogies around the chicken breasts.
- Without cleaning the skillet, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk together the honey, lemon, garlic and rosemary. Pour the mix into the pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and let the sauce thicken for 3-4 minutes.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and pierogies. Cover the roasting dish and place into the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160°F.
- Serve right away alongside the pierogies and enjoy!
