CHICKEN SKEWERS WITH THYME CREAM
WHAT ARE THEY?
Skewers made with pieces of chicken marinated in sesame oil, dipped in a thyme sauce and toasted sesame seeds, served warm.
TIME TO MAKE
Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking: 1 hour
Resting: 1 hour
EQUIPMENT
25 × 6–8 cm long wooden cocktail skewers
VARIATIONS
Replace the thyme with a split and scraped vanilla bean or with tarragon.
ADVICE
If the sauce is too thick, thin it down with a little cream.
When pan-frying the meat, don’t stir it or it won’t colour and could lose moisture.
TECHNIQUES TO MASTER
ORGANISATION
1 day before | Make the skewers, prepare the sauce.
On the day | Reheat the skewers for 40 minutes in a 60°C oven on a baking tray covered with microwave-safe plastic wrap. Reheat the sauce.
MAKES 25
SKEWERS
750 g chicken breasts
20 g sesame oil
pinch of salt
20 g olive oil, for pan-frying
20 g unsalted butter
SAUCE
40 g (¼ cup) sesame seeds
1 bunch thyme
250 g whipping cream (35 per cent fat)
10 g powdered chicken stock pinch of salt
1 Cut the chicken breasts into approximately 50 pieces. In a bowl, toss the chicken pieces with the sesame oil and salt to coat them well, then cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
2 For the sauce, toast the sesame seeds for about 15 minutes. Pick the thyme leaves and set some aside as a garnish. Heat the cream, chicken stock powder and salt in a saucepan and reduce for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3 Add the thyme and half the sesame seeds, then continue cooking for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap (with the plastic touching the surface), allow to cool, then set aside in the refrigerator.
4 Heat the olive oil and butter in a frying pan over a high heat. When the butter turns brown, brown the chicken pieces all over for 1–2 minutes, or until cooked through, working in batches (Browning). Set aside in a bowl.
5 Put two pieces of meat on each cocktail skewer.
6 To serve, reheat the sauce. Dip the skewers in it, place on individual bowls, scatter with the remaining sesame seeds and reserved thyme leaves, and serve immediately.