Grilled Chicken Toasts with Mashed Peas & Ricotta
Grilled Chicken Toasts
(with Mashed Peas & Ricotta)
Book: Hungry for More
Category: White Meat
Aldi Test*: No - because of the mint
In an effort to reduce food waste, I picked this recipe because I still had a tub of ricotta in my fridge. And while I love ricotta and onions, I am ambivalent at best about chicken sandwiches. But here we go.
SHOPPING LIST: 1/2 cup frozen peas, 1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese, 1 lemon, 1 cup canola oil, 1 tbso mint, french bread, salt, pepper, 1 cup shallots, salt, pepper
I will say that prep was fast and easy. I rarely work with mint - not a mojito gal - so that was new and a bit odd. I kept expecting the end result to taste like a stick of gum, not the savory goodness of the ricotta and crispy shallots.
All the good stuff combined together
I only have one prep tip on this one:
TIP #1: Pulverize the chicken
Chicken is so much less forgiving than red meat. It CAN'T be pink on the inside. (Does that need to be my next Law of Cooking? People know this right?) And if you over cook it it is dry and tough. So by having a lopsided piece of chicken, you risk it cooking unevenly (this recipe calls for pan frying it). So just take a meat pounder and make that chicken the same thickness everywhere. Before and after photos below for reference. (Well, almost. I had smacked the “Before” photo a few times before I thought “maybe I should actually, ya know, document this”)
I also made ONE deviation from the recipe. You'll notice that my finished product is on three pieces of bread, not one. And the reason for that is twofold: I’m lazy and I’m cheap.
I just got the biggest loaf of French bread that they had at Aldi (which wasn't very big). I did not want to go to another store because a) it would require another trip and b) it's more expensive at other stores.
I don't think I've gotten into my love of Aldi, yet, so I’ll make a mental note to gush about it in the future, but if you don't go there, get over yourself and go. Your grocery bill will thank you. I literally get everything I possibly can there other than fresh produce and good pasta.
I realized pretty quickly that one slice was not going to cut it, so, in summary, I did three slices instead of one. Let's compare how I did.
Goal next time will be to get real toast size for presentational purposes.
HOW DID IT TASTE?
Actually really really good. The toast was very crispy and nice and the ricotta/pea/lemon/mint mixture was really light and refreshing, The chicken tasted great and the real star, for me, was the crispy shallots. Man I LOVE LOVE LOVE shallots. I honestly licked my damn plate clean.
My husband LOVED it too, which is always a plus.
Est. Cook Time: 15 minutes active; 45 minutes total
Actual Cook Time: 45 minutes active; 1.25 hours total
Ease of Recipe: 4/5
Recipe Rating: 4.5/5
Would I make it again?
Yes! This is a great summer night meal that is not too heavy but still flavorful and delicious
* The Aldi test can be passed when all ingredients can be bought at aldi. Holla at one-stop, affordable shopping