Chicken breast with paprika
Go on a diet could be frustrating and boring if we constrain ourselves eating always the same things.
To have more chances to succeed in losing weight or simply stay in shape, it’s better to fit in this point of view: you can make something tasty (and a little more elaborate than a grilled steak) even using little fats and saving on calories, exactly as with this chicken breast with paprika.
The spice I chose to flavor this course is one of the most usually used for cooking, but many people wrongly think that paprika and powdered chili pepper are the same.
Paprika is made mixing different types of capsicum peppers, for this reason it can have a different range of hot tasty, but the main difference between paprika and powdered chili pepper is that, making the first, the inner membrane (placenta) of the fruit and its seeds get removed.
Making paprika, the capsicum pepper is deprived of a large part of capsaicin (the substance that make it hot), only the pulp, the richer in fructose part, is dried and powdered.
Chili pepper, member of solanacea family plants, originated in America, it arrived in Europe in XIX century thanks to commercial exchanges between Hungary and Turkey (that likewise stock it from India).
Palfi brothers produced paprika for the first time exactly in Hungary, where nowadays this spice is a part of local culinary tradition (it’s also a main ingredient of the famous goulash).
Smoked paprika instead generally originates from Spain and, to make it, the pulp of the chili pepper is dried with precious wood smoke.
Some tricks before directions
To get this chicken breast with paprika resulting more savory, I used two methods: marination, that in addition to aromatizing the meat, makes it softer, and spices to develop a richer flavor without making the chicken greaser.
Chicken breast must marinate in the fridge for at least two hours, but according to the time you have and your need, you can also extend this period to 24 hours.
When marination is completed, we will bake and serve our chicken breast as it was a little roast thanks to its meat’s thickness.
First, you will sear it each side in a pan to seal the meat keeping internal juices as much as possible, then we will finish its preparation baking for some minutes and, at the end, we will serve our chicken breast with paprika sliced.
Chicken breast with paprika recipe
Ingredients
Serves 4- A whole chicken breast of about 500 gr
- The juice of half a lime
- 1 teaspoon of virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 teaspoons of sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika
- 2 pinches of hot paprika
- 4 pinches of salt
Directions
Cut the chicken breast in the center proceeding on the median line so to divide it into two parts, remove the gristle and the “Y” shaped little bone, rinse quickly under cold water both your pieces of meat and dry them with kitchen paper.
In a big bowl, combine lime juice, virgin olive oil and the garlic clove squeezed with a garlic press.
Emulsify your marinade mixing with a fork for a few second, then put the chicken breast into the bowl and turn it upside down in the liquid, cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for at least two hours.
During the marinade time don’t forget to turn the meat upside down once in a while.
Preheat your oven at 180° C in conventional mood.
In a dish combine the different types of paprika with the salt and heat very well a nonstick pan.
Take the chicken breasts off from the marinade, drain a little and put them into the pan; sear them on each side browning them (the lateral sides too) with the help of a kitchen tongs or two tablespoons.
When browning is completed, roll and coat well your chicken breasts with paprika and put them in a baking pan covered with baking paper.
Bake for 7 minutes, then turn the meat upside down and go on baking for other 7 minutes.
When finished baking, transfer your chicken breast with paprika on a wire rack and let it rest for a minute before to cut it into rather thick slices and serve it with a rich salad or other vegetables.
