Summer has finally arrived in Laramie, Wyoming, and summertime begs for good, flavorful food! If you are like me, though, brats and burgers won't necessarily cut it. My husband Kelby and I have begun a weekend routine of getting all inspired from watching "Lidia's Kitchen" on PBS on Saturday morning and then re-creating her genius for a Sunday night backyard date night. These two chicken dishes are really, really easy, and really, really delicious. And, your kitchen will smell amazing for days.
Chicken with Orange, Kalamata Olives, and Fennel
You will need:
- One package of chicken breasts or chicken cutlets (I swear that using free-range, organic, antibiotic-free, etc. chicken really does cook and taste better)
- Two generous tablespoons of unsalted butter (again, I use the fanciest butter I can find - I love Kerrygold Irish butter)
- Two generous tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- All-purpose flour (or a gluten-free flour substitute)
- Large red onion
- Large, ripe orange
- One cup pitted and halved Kalamata or Gaeta olives
- Dry white wine (for drinking while cooking, of course, but save a cup or so for the recipe, too!)
- One teaspoon fennel powder
- Chopped fresh Italian parsley
Tackle the fennel powder first. Having freshly-ground fennel is key for this recipe - all of the other flavors hinge on it! I had Kelby carefully clean our coffee bean grinder (with some disassembling, I think, to get all the coffee grounds out of the filters and mechanisms), and ground a little more than a teaspoon of fennel seed in it. You haven't smelled until you've smelled freshly ground fennel.
Next, prep your chicken. If you use chicken breasts, cut them on a bias to create two thin slices from each breast.
Zest and juice the orange, slice the red onion, and halve the olives, if necessary.
Melt the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat - it is important to keep from overheating the mixed fats and burning them off, and to keep from over-cooking the chicken. Season the chicken breasts with kosher salt, and lightly dredge through the flour. Tap off any excess flour. Brown the chicken for about two minutes on each side and set aside. Add the onion and cook until it softens. Then add the olives, orange juice and zest, fennel powder, and some white wine. I just eyeballed the amount of white wine to use, but I'd say it was between 1/2 and 1 cup. Cook for a couple of minutes, and then add the chicken back to the skillet to cook for a few minutes more, until all the ingredients come together in a sauce that coats the chicken and the chicken is cooked through. Correct seasoning with a pinch of salt, and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Chicken with Roasted Red Peppers, Provolone, and Basil
For this variation on chicken, you will need:
- One package of chicken breasts or chicken cutlets
- Two generous tablespoons of unsalted butter
- Two generous tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- All-purpose flour (or a gluten-free flour substitute)
- One 8-oz. jar of roasted red peppers
- A few ripe tomatoes (use whichever variety is most in season)
- One teaspoon dried oregano
- One cup (at least) grated provolone
- Fresh basil
Slice the red peppers, and dice the tomatoes. The amount of tomato you use is variable, depending on your preference for them, and depending on what tomato variety you have. If you use plum or roma tomatoes, use about four or five of them. If you use beefsteak, use only two. Remove the seeds when dicing them.
Prepare and cook the chicken as you would in the recipe above. However, rather than removing the chicken after browning it, leave it in the pan, and add the peppers, tomatoes, oregano, and about a teaspoon of salt. Simmer the ingredients until they come together in a sauce. Top everything with the grated provolone and fresh chopped basil, cover, and cook a few minutes more.
Final tip: If you don't have a pair of herb scissors, I highly recommend investing in one. Herbs, especially small-leafed herbs, can be such a pain to de-stem and chop, and herb scissors will reduce that prep time down to nothing and make fresh herbs much easier to incorporate into your recipes. Here's what they look like (in fact, this is the exact pair that I use): http://www.amazon.com/RSVP-
Bon appetit!
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