Lemon Chicken in Banana Leaves

For the side dishes: Rinse the cherry tomatoes, pat dry and cut in half. Peel the shallot and the garlic cloves and chop finely. Rinse the basil and mint leaves, shake dry and finely chop. Stir together the olive oil, lemon juice and sour cream and season with turmeric and salt. In a bowl, mix together the tomatoes, shallot, garlic and chopped herbs and season to taste. Refrigerate.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (approximately 400°F).

Rinse the snow peas and remove the strings. Blanch in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 1 minute. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again.

For the chicken: Rinse the chicken breasts, pat dry and rub with lemon juice and lemon zest. Cover and refrigerate.

Peel the shallots and chop finely. Rinse the bell peppers and the chile pepper, halve both, remove the seeds and ribs and cut both into thin strips.

Heat the peanut oil in a small skillet and saute the shallots until soft. Add the bell peppers, chile pepper and turmeric and sauté briefly. Add chicken broth, season with salt and simmer 5 minutes.

Place the rice in a saucepan with with 750 ml (approximately 25 ounces) of water, season with salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the rice has absorbed all the water and is tender, about 20 minutes.

Place 4 banana leaves on a baking sheet, place the chicken breasts on top, sprinkle the chicken with the shallot-vegetable mixture and close the ends of the leaves. Bake 15-25 minutes. (Optionally, place the chicken breasts without banana leaf in a baking dish and sprinkle with the shallot-vegetable mixture.)

Just before serving, saute the snow peas in butter and sesame oil. Season with salt.