Recipe

Chicken Breasts with California Raisins and Oranges

by: Chef Robert Del Grande

Tender chicken smothered in an orange and garlic flavored raisin sauce.

Details

Serves:

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp. olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 orange

1 tbsp. butter
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
4 to 8 allspice berries
12 fennel seeds
1/2 c. California raisins
1/4 tsp. salt
Few grinds of fresh black pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red chile flakes (optional)
1/2 c. fresh cilantro sprigs

PROCEDURE

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Heat the olive oil in a hot skillet. Sear the chicken breasts on both sides to lightly brown. Transfer the breasts to an oven-proof casserole dish and arrange in a single layer. Set aside.

Zest the orange with a potato peeler. The objective is to peel only the fragant, oily skin of the orange. The zest should contain only the orange colored part of the skin and not much of the white pith (which is bitter). Roughly chop the orange zest. Reserve. Peel, section and seed the remaining orange. Roughly chop and reserve.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Clean the skillet. Heat the butter over medium-high heat until melted and sizzling. Add the orange zest. Sauté the zest until fragant. Add the garlic and sauté until lightly cooked. Add the onions, allspice, fennel seeds and raisins and sauté until the onions are lightly cooked. Add the salt and the chopped orange sections and briefly sauté to express their juices.

Spoon this mixture over the chicken breasts. Sprinkle the breast with the crushed red chile flakes. Distribute the cilantro sprigs evenly over the chicken breasts.

Place the casserole with the chicken breasts in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the chicken breasts are done.

Nutrition Information (per serving)

Calories 280(25% from fat); Total Fat 8g (sat 2.5g, mono 4g, poly 1g); Cholesterol 75mg; Protein 28g; Carbohydrates 25g; Fiber 3g; Iron 2mg; Sodium 260mg; Calcium 56mg