Chicken Breast with Smoked Cheese Sauce

How to prepare chicken breast with smoked cheese sauce

1. Prepare the sauce: heat the cream (it doesn't need to boil). Add the grated cheese and stir over low heat until the cheese melts. If you have unmelted rind pieces, strain the sauce through a sieve. Season the sauce with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. Up to this point, the sauce can be prepared in advance and stored covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator. When cold, it will solidify into a thick cream. When using, simply reheat over low heat, add the milk and the sliced chives.
   * use as much milk as needed to get a light sauce that flows slowly from the spoon; the amount depends on the cream used - heavy or light
2. Clean the leek and slice the white and light green parts into rounds. Sauté the leek in a little butter until softened, then add just enough water to cover and simmer covered for 5 minutes. Drain the liquid and blend the cooked leek in a food processor until it becomes a smooth paste. The leek puree can be prepared in advance. Store in the refrigerator until needed. When using, you'll need to reheat it.
3. Cut the chicken breast in half (the two lobes, mine weighed 150g each). Sprinkle the lobes with salt, a little more than you would normally be tempted to use. Let the meat rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
4. Season the meat with freshly ground black pepper and chili flakes.
5. Put the cubed potatoes to boil in salted water.
7. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and place the breast skin-side down (or the side where the skin was). Fry for 1 minute (until lightly browned) then flip and fry for another 1 minute on the other side. Transfer the pan to an oven preheated to 200°C and let it bake for about 7-8 minutes (if using a larger chicken breast, you can increase the baking time to 10 minutes).
8. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with aluminum foil until serving.
9. Mash the boiled potatoes with a masher. Add the leek puree (hot!) and butter and mix with a fork. Add hot milk as needed to achieve a creamy mash. Add salt to taste.
10. To serve: mound the mash in the center of a plate using a pastry ring. Pour the cheese sauce around it. Place the chicken breast cut lengthwise in half on top, at a 45-degree angle.

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