The cool and crisp whispers of a cucumber have been calling my name. Although I have resisted crawling into my fridge’s vegetable drawer, cucumber slices have been sneaking their way into my snacks, salads, and side dishes all summer long. But now, it’s finally time for their new appearance in…rev your engines please…the main dish. No no, I’m not just eating plain cucumbers for dinner! Are you silly?! I think the summer heat has gotten the best of you. No, I will be pairing the coolness of cucumbers, the juiciness of chicken, the richness of cream, and a surprising kick. I can’t help it, I have to add a little something extra to heat up your taste buds! Alright alright, I know your curiosity has got to be killing you! Slide on your shades and let’s unveil this cucumber concoction…
1. Do you rapidly flip to the back of a book to read the ending? Today you’re in luck. I’m revealing the “kick” in the very first step. I actually have to or I can’t make the dish. At least your taste buds will be surprised!
Start your engines and wash one …wait for it… jalapeno (the KICK)! Chop off the end (the stem) and cut it in half (lengthwise). With a spoon, scoop out the seeds. The seeds hold a great portion of the pepper’s spiciness, so avoid touching the seeds or you’ll be in for a nasty surprise. Love to rev up the heat? Keep a couple fiery-filled seeds in, but beware – you don’t want the heat to overpower the coolness of the cucumber.
2. Since I’m not a bad sport, I won’t slingshot half a jalapeno down your throat. Continue slicing and chopping up the jalapeno until completely diced (in small pieces).
3. Snatch some fresh dill and chop chop chop it! 3 of those bad boys (sprigs or stems with leaves) should give you about 1 tablespoon of the chopped dill leaves. Too lazy to go out and buy fresh dill? FINE. Use about 1/2 teaspoon of ground dill or 1 teaspoon of dried dill leaves (you are using less because dried/ground spices have more flavor).
Now you have FRESH-ly chopped jalapeno and dill (note the subliminal all caps).
Since you are on a chopping spree, dice up 1/2 cup of onion (about 3 rings/slices) and mince 2 cloves of garlic (about 2 teaspoons).
4. Pull out a couple (I used 2) chicken breasts, thighs, or pieces (bone in plus skin on equals flavor) and place into a lasagna pan (9 x 13 x 2 in) or cookie sheet, sprayed down with non-stick spray. If you have boneless and skinless chicken I’ll let you slide on that one. Slather those babies up with olive oil (olive oil bakes the best, has the best flavor, and is healthy). Use a spoon or kitchen brush to coat the chicken tops with about 1 teaspoon of oil per chicken piece.
Note: I personally only used 2 pieces of chicken with this recipe, but you can always double, triple, or quadruple the ingredients depending on how many pieces of chicken you need to fill your tank.
5. Season both sides of the chicken lightly with salt and pepper, to taste (to your liking), as well as that beautiful freshly chopped dill. Pile on the jalapeno, garlic, and onion on top of and over the chicken.
6. Once the chicken is ready to roll, add the final touch by drizzling olive oil over the tops. Power up the oven to 350 degrees and park that chicken in for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes speed on by (without removing the chicken), crank up the heat to 375 degrees. Cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked and the peppers and onions are beginning to brown.
7. Now what you’ve been waiting for…..the cucumber!
After a nice cool shower under the faucet, chop up only 1/2 of the cucumber into 1/3 inch (or 1 cm) slices.
8. Slide your slices onto a hot skillet (medium heat) with 1 tablespoon of heated olive oil. If you have a grill pan (they are awesome), use it! You will get those nice grill marks on the cucumber. Sprinkle them up with a little salt and pepper once they hit the grill.
9. After the first lap (1 to 2 minutes), flip the cucumbers over. You want to lightly brown each side of the cucumber to get that nice “grill” or toasty flavor. After another minute or 2, pull your grilled cucumbers off and place them on the chopping block. Oh la la!
10. I know you are getting antsy since we are on step 10. Take a chill pill – your chicken is still in the race (oven). You would be sitting around twiddling your thumbs if I wasn’t keeping you busy. Take a second and throw that hissy fit you’ve been holding in. Feel better? The cucumber slices are now cool enough to quarter (cut into 4 pieces).
11. Since you still need to release more moodiness, chop up 1 more teaspoon of fresh dill and 1/4 cup of finely diced onion. Can you chop it up with the first round (step 3) of dill and onion? Of course you can, but chop this portion into smaller (per the “finely”) pieces.
12. In the same skillet used to brown the cucumbers (or a regular skillet if you were using a grill pan), gas up the stove to medium and race 1 tablespoon of butter in. Once heated, toss (carefully) the onion and dill in and start to saute (cook). After 2 minutes, slow down to a medium-low heat and add your quartered cucumber slices in. Shake about 1 tablespoon of garlic powder on top of the bunch and mix in to wake them (and you) up.
13. Now the fun part. The cream! Pour 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream over the the mix. What are we doing? We are making a delicious sauce to spoon over your supper and bump out the competition.
Stir the cream in and continue to scrap the bottom to avoid burning the soon-to-be sauce. No skid marks (burnt pieces) on the track (skillet)!
14. Squeeze 1/2 of a lime (1 tablespoon of lime juice) into the skillet. Love pepper? Go ahead and grate in fresh pepper while stirring. After 5 minutes, turn the heat down to low. Continue to cruise the spoon around the skillet (stir occasionally) until the chicken is ready.
15. As the checkered flag drops, the chicken is now ready! After, confirming that the chicken is a winner (stick a knife in and there’s no pink in sight), take a couple victory laps around the kitchen. Remember that boneless and skinless chicken cooks faster, so don’t burn or dry out your chicken.
Note: If you can avoid it, please don’t cut into the chicken until after it has rested for about 5 minutes. When the chicken skids right out of the oven, the juices are still in the center of the chicken. If you get a little stabby before the juices have slid into to their favorite spot, the juices will flow out and leave you with a dry chicken.
16. Ready to celebrate? Plate up your chicken, scoop on the runaway onion and jalapeno, and spoon the sauce (don’t miss the cucumbers!) over the chicken. Can you believe that only took 30 minutes? That’s some speedy chicken! Now that you’ve worked up an appetite, satisfy your cravings and dig into that creamy cucumber chicken. Don’t forget that kick!
Since we run on rice and beans, we served it up with black beans and white rice. I must say it was worth the race and absolutely delicious.
