Creamy Sage Chicken
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I absolutely love fresh herbs. I am constantly looking for ways to incorporate fresh herbs into recipes. I’m so obsessed with fresh herbs that I’m currently trying to convince Matthew to buy me an indoor hydroponic herb garden machine thingy. I’ve always had a dream of having a full, vibrant garden with a decent portion of it full of herbs. The best thing about fresh herbs is they add major flavor and dimension to food without adding extra fat, sugar, carbohydrates, or anything else not necessarily good for our bodies.
Sage is an herb that pairs well with summer time foods, particularly chicken, pork, and salmon. Most people probably know the taste of sage from Thanksgiving stuffing. It is a cousin to mint, but doesn’t have the mint flavor. The flavor is more earthy and slightly citrus. Personally I prefer using fresh sage, because dried or powdered sage has a slight bitter aftertaste.
Sage also has several healthy qualities; loaded with antioxidants, vitamin K & A, fiber, calcium, iron, and folate. It also helps boost the efficacy of B vitamins, as well as vitamins C and E.
Have you tried adding fresh sage to a recipe before?
If you are vegetarian and do not eat chicken, this sauce is extremely pleasing to the palate when spooned over salmon. It also pairs very well with a pork tenderloin.
Creamy Sage Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts butterflied
- 2 cups shallots diced
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¾ cup pasta water or chicken stock
- 4 tbsp butter unsalted
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh sage chopped
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium low heat, drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil and allow to warm up.
- While skillet is warming up, prepare chicken breasts. First, pat chicken dry and then butterfly them open. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Place in skillet and cook chicken on each side for 5-7 minutes.
- While chicken is cooking, chop shallots into small pieces. Shallots are an amazing way to add an onion flavor without overpowering the dish. If your children aren't huge fans of onion, then shallots are the way to go. They have a much less potent smell and flavor.
- Once chicken is browned on both sides, remove from skillet and place on a plate, cover with foil to keep warm. Drizzle the other tbsp of olive oil in the skillet and add in the butter as well.
- When the butter is melted, add in the chopped shallots stirring often so they cook evenly and don't burn. While shallots are cooking, chop the fresh sage.
- After about 7-10 minutes the shallots should be cooked enough. Add in sour cream and heavy whipping cream. Stir to combine. To thin out the sauce a bit, add in pasta water (if you are going to serve with pasta) or low sodium chicken broth. Add in sage and again stir to combine.
- Place the chicken back into the pan and cover it with a lid or foil. Allow to simmer on low heat for 10 minutes, turning the chicken halfway through. This allows the chicken to finish cooking as well as moisten and combine with the flavors of the sauce.
- Once chicken is finished. Serve immediately. Can be served over pasta or rice, or on it's own. Very tasty either way. Plate the chicken first and the spoon sauce over top, for extra garnish, top with a couple of whole sage leaves.
Nutrition
A yellow onion can easily be substituted for shallots, but personally I love using shallots in recipes like this. Shallots are an onion, but with less potency in flavor and smell. When my children decided they loathed onions, I switched to using shallots for most recipes. They had no idea they were still eating onions.
Also, if your kitchen has a set up like mine, your cutting board isn’t right next to the stove. That can prove difficult for moving mass amounts of chopped foods into a skillet or pot. Possibly one of my most favorite kitchen tools is this…
My favorite is Rachel Ray’s model of the bench scrape. Her’s is usually on the cheaper scale as well as it is dishwasher safe. The best part is the little sides that help keep the food on the bench scrape instead of falling off of the sides. I have multiple bench scrapes and love every one of them equally. Just like any mom, I don’t play favorites when it comes to things in my life.
Do you have a love of fresh herbs as well? What are some of your favorite recipes that include fresh herbs? Hope y’all have an amazing week.
One Comment
Marsha L Crawford
Hello Katie,
I definitely am going to try this chicken sage recipe. Like you, I enjoy herbs and am willing to experiment with them to see how they work in various dishes.
LV is such a hot place I am not sure how you would grow herbs there. Lots of my friends who have wide window sills grow them in small pots on their sills. My walking group buddies share their herbs. Mint is invasive; it really takes over an area. I think it is easier to buy small starter pots of herbs than grow them from seeds. Most herbs like lots of sun, but some also like a cooler climate. I have sage, thyme, oregano, and basil growing in my postage stamp back yard. Many of the herbs will last far into the fall after the other plants are gone.
And, like you wrote, fresh is always better.
Marsha