Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Chicken & Tomato Saute

The following is a recipe I made from Real Simple magazine over two weeks ago, but again, my laziness and later my mom's visit lead me to not posting until now.

This is a fast dish with plenty of flavor and lots of opportunity for versatility. The recipe is for chicken, but the main sauce/saute part would be great with a firm white fish or even pork chops. The tarragon is a strong flavor that works well here. But becareful not to use too much or it will overpower all the other flavors and present itself with a strong licorice pungency.

Chicken Cutlets with Tomato Sauté
From Real Simple (August 2008)
4 servings

1 1/2 lbs small chicken cutlets (8 to 12)
Kosher salt and pepper
2 TB olive oil
1 1/2 cups pints grape or cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
4 scallions, sliced
2 TB fresh tarragon leaves, chopped

Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, cook the chicken until browned and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to plates.

**Extra step if you like. After the chicken is out of the pan, toss in one diced shallot. As they sweat and release their liquid, they will pull up some of the extra flavor from the pan. Then add the wine, allowing it to reduce to start the sauce. Add the tomatoes at that point, allowing them to simmer in the wine sauce.

Add the tomatoes to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to burst, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the wine and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the scallions and tarragon and serve with the chicken.


The sauted chicken breasts. Beautifully golden.

The sauce reducing and becoming richer.

Look at this little rubies, speckled with emerald bits of tarragon.

We served with rice. A green vegetable would be nice as well. You'll also notice that I added some diced shallots to enhance the sauce further.

1 comment:

Dancer in DC said...

As Scott mentions, the challenge with this sauce is not to let the tarragon become overpowering. In this case, it was the tomatoes that really absorbed that flavor. But the rest of the sauce went really well with the chicken.