Seared Chicken with Grits & Swiss Chard

A balanced savory dish that is awakened with a splash of acidity.

Simple, balanced, and delicious

As you might be able to tell, I'm a fan of grits and this dish worked really well! It's the main course in a 3-course dinner I made for my mother on her birthday this year. I hope you all enjoy it as much as she did.

Seared Chicken with Grits & Swiss Chard

Ingredients

Serving Size 4

• 4 Chicken Thighs

• 1 cup quick grits

• 5 cups chicken stock

• 1/2 cup pepperjack cheese

• 3-4 cups Swiss Chard

• 3 Shallots

• 3 garlic cloves

• 1 Tbsp lemon pepper

• 1 Tbsp garlic powder

• 1 Tbsp onion powder

• Salt to taste

• 10 cherry tomatoes

• 2 tsp sugar

• 1/4 lemon

• 3 tbsp flour

• 2 tbsp butter

• 4 tbsp cooking oil

• 3 tbsp corn starch

Directions

1. Get all of your ingredients prepped first. Cut Pepperjack cheese into equal sizes so it melts evenly, chop shallots, remove stems from Swiss chard roughly chop the leaves before chopping the stems and keep them separated. Mince Garlic cloves.

2. Remove Skins from each chicken thigh and place on a backing sheet. Sprinkle each skin with salt and put them into the oven for 15-20 minutes. Keep checking them and pour off the grease as it builds up so the skin can fully crisp.

3. Add flour, corn starch, and some salt to a plate and make sure it's combined.

4. Pound out your chicken thighs lightly so they are even in thickness, this will help them cook evenly. Season both sides of the chicken with your dry ingredients (Salt, lemon pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder). Let marinate for 15 minutes. Lay the chicken thighs into the dry ingredient mixture, and make sure you get a light coating on both sides of the chicken. Shake the chicken to remove excess flour/corn starch.

5. In a large skillet add your 3 Tbsp of cooking oil to the pan, medium heat.
   

6. Lay your chicken thighs in the oil once it reaches the right temperature and you want to crisp each side so it should sizzle when it hits the oil. If it doesn't remove it immediately and wait for the oil to heat up.

7. Sear each thigh for about 3 minutes, and them and sear for another 3 minutes on the opposite side. Each side should have a beautiful sear and be cooked through due to pounding the thighs down to an even thickness. Remove from the pan and let the thighs rest for 8 minutes before serving.

8. In a medium Sauté pan, add 1 Tbsp cooking oil and your chopped shallots and Swiss Chard stems. Sauté for 3-5 minutes before adding garlic and sauteing for another minute. Now add your Swiss chard and continue to rotate the leaves and as it cooks it will shrink like most greens do. Sauté the greens for about 4-5 minutes and then add a cup of chicken stock, sugar, reduce the heat to medium/low, and let simmer with the lid on for about 15 minutes. Check for seasoning, add salt to taste, and you are good to go.

9. In a small soup pot add 4 cups of chicken stock to the pan and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Once it begins to simmer add Grits and continue to stir until they absorb the stock and are fully cooked through. You can add water as needed if they get too thick and need more time cooking.

10. Add cheese to the grits and remove from the heat. Keep stirring until the cheese is melted and then salt to taste.

11. Finish the dish by taking the crispy chicken skin, crumbling it up and sprinkling it over the top of your dish. It adds a delicious flavor and texture to the dish.
    

12. Enjoy!