Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Monday's dinner - a keeper (rerun)

 (I originally posted this last August, but wanted to share it again. I was hankering for a taste of Summer for dinner tonight and this hit the spot!)

About a month ago, I purchased Cook's Illustrated's, "The Best Skillet Supers".  I love their cookbooks and will probably continue to accumulate the ones that make sense for the two of us.  On Sunday evening I put together the following recipe (with Mom and Lise's help), "Chicken and Couscous, with Fennel and Orange".  It was such a nice, comforting segue into fall cooking that it was easy to pick-out a second recipe for Monday dinner, "Sauteed Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Yellow Squash".  I did a few substitutions and was worried I would ruin the recipe, but it turned out delicious.  I was careful to give the Delicata Squash I substituted for the zucchini several minutes longer in the pan, but the cut-up Romas I used weren't that much different from cherry tomatoes.  Oh!  And I added about a Tbsp of minced shallot with the garlic.
Here's the recipe:

"Sauteed Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Yellow Squash"

4 (5-6 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp herbes de Provence
Salt and ground black pepper
3 Tbsp plus 2 tsp olive oil
2 Medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise, then cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
2 Medium yellow squash, quartered lengthwise, then cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
2 Medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed (about 2 tsp.)
1 Pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Tbsp capers
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil leaves.

1)  Pound each chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap to a uniform 1/2" thickness.  Place the flour in a shallow dish.  Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels and season with the herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper.  Working with 1 chicken breast at a time, dredge in the flour, shaking off the excess.
2)  Heat 2 Tbsp of the oil in a 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Carefully lay the chicken breasts in the skillet and cook until well browned on the first side, 6-8 minutes.
3)  Flip the chicken breasts over, reduce the heat to medium, and continue to cook until the thickest part of the chicken registers 160-165 degrees, 6-8 minutes longer.  Transfer the chicken to a plate, tent with foil and let rest while cooking the vegetables.
4)  Add 2 tsp more oil to the skillet and return to medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add the zucchini and squash and cook until well browned, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the tomatoes and capers and cook until the tomatoes are just softened, about 2 minutes.
5)  Off the heat, stir in the remaining 1 Tbsp oil, basil, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer to a large serving platter and serve with the chicken.

1 comment:

smc said...

This does sound like a wonderful fall supper. Thanks for sharing!