Comfort food: Tuscan Chicken

A creamy, dreamy indulgence

I love making this dish when I need a little pick-me-up. It’s the perfect balance between decadent creamy cheesiness and fresh Italian flavours. It's also totally ideal for date nights in… with yourself or live-in self-isolation family or friends. For dessert? The pleasure of only having to wash one pan. What a treat. Chef’s notes: Make sure you have loads of crusty bread on standby ready to sop up the most delicious sauce you’ve ever known. And for goodness sake, brown the chicken.

DIFFICULTY: Super easy

SERVES: 4

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

COOK TIME: 40 minutes

Olive oil

4 boneless chicken breasts

Salt

Black pepper, freshly ground

1 tablespoon dried oregano

3 tablespoons butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved

3 cups baby spinach

1 cup coconut milk OR heavy dairy cream (I prefer the lighter consistency of coconut milk)

½ cup grated parmesan

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Ciabatta or any other crusty bread

  1. Coat the chicken breasts in olive oil and season with salt, pepper and oregano.
  2. Heat a few splashes of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, then brown the chicken. To prevent it from drying out, fry one side on medium heat for about 8 minutes, then flip the chicken over, bring the heat down to low and cover the pan with a lid to cook for another 8 minutes. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.
  3. In the same pan, over medium heat, melt a knob of butter, then stir in garlic and cook for about 1 minute until golden and fragrant.
  4. Add the cherry tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook until they begin to soften – not too long or they will cook away later.
  5. Add spinach and cook until it begins to wilt. Happy with the spinach to tomato ratio right now? If not, this is your last chance to fix it.
  6. Stir in coconut milk (or heavy cream) and parmesan and bring the mixture to a simmer. If you’re using coconut milk and you want to thicken the sauce, add some mascarpone or cream cheese. Keep the sauce simmering for about 3 minutes until it slightly thickens.
  7. Add the chicken back in and cook until heated through.
  8. Garnish with some parmesan shavings or fresh oregano and serve with lemon wedges and bread.
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