One Pan, Two Plates (26 page)

5.
Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the lemon zest and juice. Bring to a boil and cook until the liquid is reduced to about 2 tbsp, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and swirl the pan off heat to melt it. Taste the sauce for seasoning and add a sprinkle of salt and pepper if it needs it.

6.
Pour the lemon butter sauce over the chicken and chard, sprinkle the parsley over the top, and serve hot.

it’s that easy:
To say that today’s chicken breasts can be on the large and thick side is an understatement. In order to cook these bigger birds quickly and keep them juicy, you need to pound the breast meat to an even thinness with either a meat pounder or a small, heavy skillet. Just hold the thinner end of the breast with one hand and pound out the thicker end until the whole piece is no more than ½ in/12 mm thick. For a tidier process, put the chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper. Note: Breast meat that has been frozen and thawed a few times will break down with just a few pounds and might shred a bit, but don’t worry. Once cooked, it will look and taste just fine.

extra hungry?
Add microwave steam-in-the-bag brown rice. It’s especially delicious when the lemony butter sauce mixes with the nutty whole-grain rice.

in the glass:
Serve this meal with a glass of chilled South African Sauvignon Blanc from Mulderbosch, or, if you’re a die-hard red fan, try an Oregon state Pinot Noir from Wallace Brook.

Fontina and Prosciutto—Stuffed Chicken Breasts

with
RADICCHIO-FENNEL SAUTÉ

When a chicken is stripped of its bones and skin, a great way to dress it back up is to stuff it with something delicious. Cheese and ham come directly to mind . . . namely, fontina cheese, which gets all oozy and soft when melted, and prosciutto, the prized Italian cured ham, for its blast of rich, smoky flavor. So—now that the chicken is all taken care of, let’s turn our attention to the vegetables. I can’t think of anything I’d rather eat with a luscious stuffed breast than sautéed bitter radicchio and fennel, sauced with just a touch of sweet-tart orange juice. That chicken never had it so good.

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START TO FINISH
35 minutes

...

HANDS ON TIME
25 minutes

...

serves 2

........

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 oz/55 g fontina cheese, cut into ½-in/12-mm cubes

2 thin slices prosciutto, cut into 1-in/2.5-cm squares

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil, plus more if needed

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 large fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and thinly sliced

1 small head radicchio (see “It’s that easy”), quartered, cored, and thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

⅓ cup/75 ml fresh orange juice

2 tsp minced fresh chives

1.
Put the chicken breasts on a cutting board with the thickest of the long sides facing you. Using a small, sharp knife, slide the blade horizontally into the center of the thick side of one breast and about three-fourths of the way through the width. Rock the tip of the blade back and forth inside the breast to make the pocket larger than the entry hole. (Be careful not to puncture any outside edges of the chicken or the cheese will escape during cooking.) Repeat to make a pocket in the second breast. Pound the breasts with a meat pounder or small, heavy skillet to flatten them slightly. They
should be no thicker than ¾ in/2 cm. Stuff each breast with the cheese and prosciutto pieces, dividing them evenly. Weave the opening closed with toothpicks. Pat the breasts dry and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.

2.
Heat a 12-in/30.5-cm skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken breasts, “skin-side “down. (Even though there is no skin here, the skin side will be the most attractive side to present on the plate.) Cook without disturbing until nicely browned, about 3 minutes. Don’t try to turn the chicken if it’s stuck to the bottom of the pan; it will release once it is sufficiently browned. Turn the breasts carefully and cook until browned on the second side and the meat is cooked almost all the way through, another 2 minutes or so. Transfer the breasts to a plate and cover to keep warm. (They will not be fully cooked at this point.)

3.
Add a little more oil to the hot pan if it seems dry. Add the onion and fennel and sauté until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the radicchio, garlic, and ¼ tsp salt and toss the vegetables to help the radicchio wilt, about 1 minute. Grind some pepper over the top and add the orange juice. It will bubble up. Return the chicken to the pan, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer the chicken and vegetables for about 3 minutes to finish cooking the chicken and tenderize the vegetables.

4.
Transfer the chicken to two warmed plates, raise the heat to medium-high, and simmer the vegetable mixture to concentrate the flavor of the orange juice, about 1 minute longer. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if it needs it.

5.
Remove the toothpicks from the chicken breasts and mound the vegetables on the side. Sprinkle the chives over the top and serve hot.

it’s that easy:
Radicchio is an oft underlooked leafy chicory that is wonderful to use in sautés. It cooks up cabbage-like in texture, and the bright red color gives way to a more muted tone once wilted. I love it for its flavor: more bitter than cabbage, yet still bright and fresh. It always adds something a little extra, and it’s the perfect complement to the slightly sweet, licorice-tinged fennel I’ve paired it with here.

extra hungry?
Just add microwave steam-in-the-bag rice, either brown or white, to round out this meal.

in the glass:
A Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon would be just the thing to go with this cheesy-hammy chicken breast with orange-tamed bitter greens. Look for a bottling from Erath or King Estate for value and style.

Yellow Curry Chicken

with
GREEN BEANS
and
POTATOES

I love the sweet-hot-spicy-rich flavor of curries. Since yellow curry traditionally has less heat than a red or green one, it’s the perfect Indian dish for spice newbies or those who are sensitive to the heat of chiles. But don’t let this dish’s mild manner fool you. It really satisfies with the fresh flavors of garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon, and will wow you in a way that a jar of packaged curry powder never could.

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START TO FINISH
25 minutes

...

HANDS-ON TIME
40 minutes

...

serves 2

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8 oz/225 g boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp ground turmeric

¼ tsp red pepper flakes, plus more if needed

Pinch of ground cumin

Pinch of ground cloves

Pinch of ground cinnamon

One 14-oz/400-ml can unsweetened coconut milk

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp fish sauce (nam pla)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 shallot, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

6 oz/170 g new potatoes, scrubbed and cut into slices ¼ in/6 mm thick

¼ cup/60 ml water

1 cup/140 g frozen green beans, thawed

Microwave steam-in-the-bag rice for serving

½ lime, cut into wedges

2 tsp minced fresh cilantro

1.
Sprinkle the chicken all over with salt and pepper.

2.
In a small bowl, stir together ½ tsp salt, the coriander, turmeric, red pepper flakes, cumin, cloves, and cinnamon. In another small bowl, stir together the coconut milk, brown sugar, and fish sauce. Set the two mixtures aside.

3.
Heat a 12-in/30.5-cm skillet over medium heat and add the vegetable oil. When the oil shimmers, add the shallot, garlic, ginger, onion, and reserved spice mix. Sauté until the vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the potatoes and coconut-milk mixture and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.

4.
Return the heat to medium-high and stir in the water, green beans, and chicken. Bring the curry back to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until the chicken is just cooked through and the beans are tender, another 5 minutes or so. Taste and adjust the seasoning with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

5.
Mound the cooked rice onto two warmed plates and top with the curry. Squeeze the lime wedges over the top, sprinkle with the cilantro, and serve hot.

it’s that easy:
When I have the time, I prefer to use whole spices and grind them up myself. But for a weeknight timesaver, I use already-ground-in-the-jar spices. Because they go stale quickly, I choose ground spices in small containers. That way I can use them up before they begin to lose their potency and flavor.

extra hungry?
Add more potatoes and chicken for extra-hearty appetites.

in the glass:
Curry has a lot going on . . . a bazaar’s worth of spice, a little heat, and richness from the coconut milk. A very traditional wine pairing with spicy or aromatic dishes is a Riesling. They’re not all sweet, and many are easy on the wallet as well. Look to J. Lohr, Fetzer, or Bonny Doon Rieslings for value-priced selections.

Thai Red Curry Chicken

with
BELL PEPPERS
and
BROCCOLI