These Chicken Breasts with Provençal Vierge Sauce are a delicious way to add some French flair to your menu rotation. The Vierge sauce is tangy and fresh and feels sophisticated and decadent over the grilled chicken breasts. The flavors of ripe tomatoes, fleshy olives, briny capers, rich roasted pine nuts and lemon zest complement the flavor of the chicken so well. The sauce truly transforms a classic!
What is Vierge Sauce?
La Sauce Vierge is a French version of a Salsa, made with diced tomatoes, olives, basil, capers, pine nuts, shallots, lemon zest and olive oil that you will want serve over everything! This recipe for La Sauce Vierge is an authentic Provençal Recipe from my French Grandmother-in-law, Pierrette.
In this recipe I love how the Vierge sauce completely transforms a weeknight chicken breast dinner into a dish you could elegantly serve to dinner party guests.
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If you like the flavors of tomatoes, basil, olives and lemons, you will love this sauce. It is the perfect blend of fresh, summer flavors made bright and sunny with the lemon with a zing from the finely diced shallots and capers.
Ingredients for Chicken Breasts with Provençal Vierge Sauce:
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- ¼ cup of chives, finely chopped
- 1 ½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- ⅓ cup of pitted Niçois or Kalamata black olives, halved (lengthwise)
- 2 tbsps of capers (left whole if it is the small kind. If it is the full caper berry, halve or quarter depending the size)
- ½ cup basil, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons roasted pine nuts
- ¾ cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 4 Chicken Breasts (I prefer Organic if at all possible)
- 1 tbsps olive oil for the chicken
Cooking Instructions :
For the Chicken Breasts:
(I suggest this method for having a crispy grilled outside and a succulent, juicy inside.)
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a non-stick pan over medium high heat
- Place the chicken breasts in the pan to sear for about 10 minutes, flipping over halfway. Leave until the chicken breasts have a nice, golden brown color on each side.
- Remove from heat and transfer the chicken breasts to an oven safe dish (like this Le Creuset I always use)
- Set the dish in the oven on the middle rack for approximately 15 minutes until the chicken breasts are fully cooked. I recommend using a meat thermometer if you are unsure - the temperature inside the meat should reach 165 degrees. Cooking times can vary greatly depending on the thickness and size of the meat.
- Remove chicken from the oven and allow to rest on the counter while you finish assembling your dish
Instructions for Vierge Sauce:
- Mix the shallot, green onions, chives, cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, basil, pine nuts together in a mixing bowl with the ¾ cup of olive oil.
- Zeste the lemon into the Vierge Sauce. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into the sauce using a strainer to avoid lemon seeds getting into your Vierge!
- Mix and set aside.
- Vierge sauce is even better made a couple hours in advance, the shallots lose their acidity when resting in the olive oil.
It is that simple! A delicious, healthy Mediterranean dinner in 35 minutes. I don't always serve this dish with a side - I think the tomatoes and chicken are enough of a meal. However you can choose to accompany this dish with pasta (tossed in the Vierge sauce as well) or else rice. Make sure to finish the cooked rice in the pan with the chicken drippings. Yummy!
How else to serve Sauce Vierge
You will want to serve Vierge Sauce on everything! The sauce is bright and citrusy with a little bit of tang from the shallots that is absolutely delicious.
Vierge Sauce with Branzino
- A French classic.The delicate flavors of Branzino are perfect with la Sauce Vierge. Click here for the recipe
Vierge Sauce with Salmon
- Grill 4 Salmon filets and spoon sauce vierge over the top right before serving
Vegetarian Pasta Salad
- Add Vierge sauce to 4 cups of chilled, cooked pasta (I like fusilli or gemelli), mix well and top with mozzarella or burrata cheese. So yummy!
FAQS
La Sauce Vierge is a French version of a Salsa, made with diced tomatoes, olives, basil, capers, pine nuts, shallots, lemon zest and olive oil that you will want serve over everything!
Technically it is not cooked so it is more of a vinaigrette, but the flavors and preparation are so delicious - it has been elevated to "sauce" status in France. I liken Sauce Vierge to a Salsa because it has many of the same principals and is used very much in the same way.
I recommend storing Sauce Vierge no more than 1-2 days in the fridge. The flavors are so much better when the sauce is made fresh.
La Sauce Vierge is most often served over a light, delicate grilled fish such as Branzino in France ( check out my Mediterranean Branzino with Vierge Sauce recipe) but I love this sauce so much I have taken to serving it over everything from grilled chicken, salmon, pork tenderloin, hanger steak and also as a pasta salad.
Provençal Sauce is another term used often for la sauce Vierge, or Vierge Sauce. It is technically a vinaigrette or a salsa made of tomatoes, olives, capers, green onion, chives, basil and olive oil. Vierge Sauce is delicious served over grilled fish, chicken or pasta to make a pasta salad.
More Provençal Recipes by Le Chef's Wife you will enjoy
Mediterranean Branzino Filet Recipe with Vierge Sauce
I hope you enjoy this recipe for Chicken Breasts with Provençal Vierge Sauce. Let me know by commenting and rating the recipe - I would love to hear from you!
Au plaisir,
Le Chef's Wife
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Bonjour! I am Anina Belle. I translate the fancy cooking of my Michelin-star trained French Chef Husband, Le Chef, into easy to make dishes that busy people with no culinary training (like me!) can make at home. We have two young kids (8 and 5) and I run a marketing firm and a non-profit in addition to this blog. I strongly believe that even busy people deserve to eat well at home.
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Chicken Breasts with Provençal Vierge Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 35
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: French
- Method: Oven baked
- Cuisine: French, Mediterranean
Description
These Chicken Breasts with Provençal Vierge Sauce are a delicious way to add some French flair to your menu rotation. The Vierge sauce is tangy and fresh and feels sophisticated and decadent over the grilled chicken breasts. The flavors of ripe tomatoes, fleshy olives, briny capers, rich roasted pine nuts and lemon zest complement the flavor of the chicken so well. The sauce truly transforms a classic!
Ingredients
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- ¼ cup of chives, finely chopped
- 1 ½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- ⅓ cup of pitted Niçois or Kalamata black olives, halved (lengthwise)
- 2 tbsps of capers (left whole if it is the small kind. If it is the full caper berry, halve or quarter depending the size)
- ½ cup basil, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons roasted pine nuts
- ¾ cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 4 Chicken Breasts (I prefer Organic if at all possible)
- 1 tbsps olive oil for the chicken
Instructions
Cooking Instructions:
For the Chicken Breasts:
I suggest this method for having a crispy grilled outside and a succulent, juicy inside
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a non-stick pan over medium high heat
- Place the chicken breasts in the pan to sear for about 10 minutes, flipping over halfway. Leave until the chicken breasts have a nice, golden brown color on each side.
- Remove from heat and transfer the chicken breasts to an oven safe dish (like this Le Creuset I always use)
- Set in the oven on the middle rack for approximately 15 minutes until the chicken breasts are fully cooked.
- I recommend using a meat thermometer if you are unsure - the temperature inside the meat should reach 165 degrees. Cooking times can vary greatly depending on the thickness and size of the meat.
- Remove chicken from the oven and allow to rest on the counter while you finish assembling your dish
Instructions for Vierge Sauce:
- Mix the shallot, green onions, chives, cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, basil, pine nuts together in a mixing bowl with the ¾ cup of olive oil.
- Zeste the lemon into the Vierge Sauce. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into the sauce using a strainer to avoid lemon seeds getting into your Vierge!
- Mix and set aside.
- Le Chef's note: Vierge sauce is even better made a couple hours in advance, the shallots lose their acidity when resting in the olive oil.
It is that simple! A delicious, healthy Mediterranean dinner in 35 minutes. I don't always serve this dish with a side - I think the tomatoes and chicken are enough of a meal. However you can choose to accompany this dish with pasta (tossed in the Vierge sauce as well) or else rice. Make sure to finish the cooked rice in the pan with the chicken drippings. Yummy!
Notes
How else to serve Sauce Vierge
You will want to serve Vierge Sauce on everything! The sauce is bright and citrusy with a little bit of tang from the shallots that is absolutely delicious.
Vierge Sauce with Branzino
- A French classic.The delicate flavors of Branzino are perfect with la Sauce Vierge. Click here for the recipe
Vierge Sauce with Salmon
- Grill 4 Salmon filets and spoon sauce vierge over the top right before serving
Vegetarian Pasta Salad
- Add Vierge sauce to 4 cups of chilled, cooked pasta (I like fusilli or gemelli), mix well and top with mozzarella or burrata cheese. So yummy!
Sharon says
Vierge sauce is délicieuse! Fresh, bright and beautiful combination of flavors. I served it with the chicken breasts. Can't wait to try it on fish and pasta.
lechefswife says
Bonjour Sharon, Thank you so much for your kind comment! That is so sweet of you to say! I appreciate it so much.
Cheryl says
I'm loving this recipe. Your vierge sauce is what makes this recipe so good. And I love the combination of the capers and lemon zest - it's so good.
lechefswife says
thank you so much Cheryl! I am so glad you like it!
Shani says
You had me at capers! Seriously though, this sauce elevates anything it touches. Thank you for providing this amazing recipe!
lechefswife says
The capers get me too! LOVE capers!
Britney says
Such a delicious recipe! I made the vierge sauce with salmon and it was utter perfection! The capers and olives added such a nice touch of briney flavor. I will definitely be making this recipe again!