Broiled Chicken with Anchovy Butter, Blistered Tomatoes and Broccoli
Your weekday shape — broil the protein, char the vegetable — with one compound butter doing all the work. Salt-packed anchovies melt into butter and disappear entirely, leaving something savory that nobody can quite name.
Ingredients
- chicken breast1 large (about 10 oz), or 2 small
- salt-packed anchovies3 whole fish
- butter, softened4 tbsp
- garlic1 clove, grated or minced to a paste
- lemonzest of 1, plus the juice to finish
- broccoli1 head, cut into florets
- cherry tomatoesa generous handful, whole
- olive oil2 tbsp
- salt and black pepperto taste
- riceoptional, to serve
Method
Rinse 3 salt-packed anchovies under cold water, rubbing the salt off with your thumbs. Open each one along the belly, lift the spine out, and soak the fillets in cool water for 10 minutes. Pat dry.
Watch for
They should smell clean and savory, not aggressive. Salt-packed ones are firmer and far better than oil-packed once rinsed — this step is the whole reason.
Mash the anchovy fillets to a paste with the garlic and a pinch of pepper, then work the soft butter in with a fork along with the lemon zest. Set aside at room temperature.
Watch for
No visible fish pieces — it should look like slightly grey butter and taste only deeply savory.
Heat the broiler with a rack about 6 inches below it. Pat the chicken dry, butterfly it flat if thick, and season with salt and pepper — lightly on salt, the butter brings plenty.
Watch for
Dry surface again. Under a broiler, moisture is the enemy of color.
Toss the broccoli and tomatoes with olive oil and salt. Spread on a sheet pan, push them to the edges, and lay the chicken in the center. Broil 6–8 minutes.
Watch for
Broccoli tips darkening, tomato skins tightening and splitting.
Flip the chicken, shake the pan, and broil another 5–7 minutes until the chicken reaches 165°F / 74°C at the thickest point.
Watch for
Broilers vary wildly. Check at 4 minutes and don't trust the clock over the thermometer.
Move everything to a warm plate. Drop half the anchovy butter over the hot chicken and the rest over the vegetables, and let it melt into the pan juices.
Watch for
It should pool and go glossy rather than sit as a lump — if the chicken has cooled too much to melt it, it rested too long.
Rest 5 minutes, slice across the grain, squeeze the zested lemon over everything, and spoon the pan juices back on.