Cooking for Two - Bruce Weinstein [49]
LEMON CHICKEN SAUTÉ makes 2 servings
Nothing complicated or unusual here—just a satisfying dinner in no time. Buy the best black olives you can find, preferably the small ones from Nyons or other varieties from Provence. Serve this meal with rice or roasted new potatoes, and finish it off with strawberry sorbet.
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Two 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded thin (see step 1 of Sautéed Chicken with Radishes, page 148)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature (see Note)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ tablespoons chopped pitted black olives
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
¼ cup dry vermouth
3 tablespoons lemon juice (juice from 1 medium lemon)
1. Mix the flour, salt, and pepper together on a large dinner plate. Dredge the breasts in the flour mixture, coating both sides. Knock off any excess flour, then set them aside.
2. Melt the butter with the oil in a large skillet or sauté pan set over medium heat. Add the prepared chicken breasts and cook for 3 minutes. Turn and cook for about 3 more minutes, until browned and cooked through. Transfer the breasts to two dinner plates, tent them with foil to keep warm, and return the pan to medium heat without removing any of the pan’s residual fat.
3. Stir in the olives and lemon zest and cook for about 20 seconds, just until sizzling. Pour in the vermouth and lemon juice, raise the heat to high, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Boil for 1 minute, or until slightly reduced, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Remove the foil from the breasts and pour this sauce evenly over them, dotting them with black olives. Serve immediately.
NOTE: You can use 2 tablespoons olive oil, rather than a mixture of butter and olive oil. Or you can use 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, provided you lower the heat so that the butter doesn’t burn. The chicken breasts may then take a minute or two longer to cook through. Once you add the vermouth, raise the heat to high as indicated.
BAKED CHICKEN WITH SQUASH AND CHARD makes 2 servings
With a whole, bone-in chicken breast (two breasts still attached by the center bone), you can make a baked chicken dinner for two any night of the week. Here, the whole breast is set over a bed of greens and squash, but there are endless variations.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage, or 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 whole bone-in chicken breast (1½to 1¾ pounds), ribs removed
1 small onion, minced
1 small delicata or kabocha squash (about ¾ pound), peeled, seeded, and cut into ½-inch cubes, or 1 cup peeled and seeded butternut squash, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 small bunch red or yellow Swiss chard (about 8 ounces), stalks and thick veins removed, the leaves roughly chopped
¼ cup dry vermouth
2 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Mix 1 tablespoon of the butter, 1 teaspoon of the fresh sage or ½ teaspoon of the rubbed sage, the salt, and pepper in a small bowl until smooth and pastelike. Rub this mixture over the chicken breast, particularly coating the skin and any exposed meat. If you wish, gently pull the skin up by starting at the thin end of the breast and slipping your finger between the skin and the meat; massage some of this paste directly onto the meat under the skin before pressing the skin back down onto the meat. Set aside.
2. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons