In a previous post I mentioned how terrible my food photography is. This is for a two main reasons. Number 1: I don’t have any decent lighting at my apartment or Olive’s. Number 2: I couldn’t be bothered (primarily as a direct result of issue 1… there was no point being all fancy with my plating and spending ages trying to find the perfect angle when the lighting was crappy and shadows were cast all over my plate.)
I do most of my cooking at night, therefore having proper indoor lighting is key as none of the natural stuff is streaming through the window. The lack of said lighting is something I may have complained about once or twice. Ok, huffed and puffed about. At least a dozen times. And because I’m a very lucky girl, I need to huff and puff no more. Tonight Olive surprised me with a portable lighting studio so I can snap shots of all our meals and post pictures that look halfway decent on here. That way there’s more chance my posts will inspire you to get in the kitchen versus reach for the take out menu.
We only have 10 days left on Whole30 (praise the Lord) so I am already looking forward to taking pictures of all the delicious treats I plan to rustle up once we’re done. I better get practicing my plating!
But for tonight, here is the recipe for the first meal I ever put in a light filled box and took pictures of (with my brand new iPhone 6s – no fancy cameras needed!)
Pan-Roasted Chicken Breast with Pesto Zucchini Noodles & Mashed Sweet Potato
INGREDIENTS
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 3 zucchinis
- 1 large sweet potato
- 4oz (2 packed cups) basil
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup walnuts
METHOD
To make the pesto combine basil, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt & pepper in a food processor. Blitz until you have pesto consistency. Store in a mason jar in the fridge until you’re ready to use.
Heat some ghee in a pan, season your chicken breasts and place in a very hot pan. They should sizzle. Don’t touch the chicken for about 4-5 minutes so they get a nice crispy brown coating. Turn over and cook for the same amount of time on the other side. Then turn the heat down and turn the chicken back and forth every few minutes until it’s cooked. How long it takes will depend on how beasty your chicken breasts are. Probbaly no more than 3-5 more minutes per side. Make sure you don’t overcook the chicken – juicy is the key here!
Pierce your sweet potato a few times with a fork, wrap in a paper towel and microwave for 7-9 minutes. Exact amount of time needed will depend on the size of your potato. Just make sure it’s soft to the touch when you take it out the microwave. Meanwhile, turn your zucchini into noodles and stir fry in a pan with a little olive oil, salt & pepper for about 5 minutes until softened. Remove from pan and pat with paper towels to dry. Return to the pan and stir in tbsps pesto.
Remove the insides of your potato and mash with salt & pepper. Spoon onto a plate, top with pesto zoodles and your chicken breast.
Place in fancy light filled box and marvel at lack of shadows. Take too many pictures of the exact same thing. Eat cold food.
epicuriousbrit 
The light box works a treat. I must get my hands on one.