Sicilian Style Chicken

The past few weeks we have been eating out more than we normally do. So this Friday night instead of going out to eat we decided to cook and eat at home. I decided to try a new recipe out of the September Cooking Light since I just got the October issue and haven’t cooked out of the September one yet. I wanted a chicken dish and decided on the Sicilian Chicken because of the simplicity of the recipe and all the yummy ingredients that go into the sauce.

To make this dish you start by pounding the chicken. I have found that the easiest way for me to pound chicken is to put it in a large zip lock bag and pound away. I used to use wax paper, but it would tear on me. This method has become my preferred way for cooking whole chicken breasts on the stove because having the same thickness (post pounding) allows it to cook evenly which helps me to not over cook it. Once pounded you sprinkle it with salt and pepper and then dredge the breasts in flour. They are then added to a hot pan that has a little olive oil and cook for a couple minutes on each side. Once they are partially cooked you add the wine, tomatoes, olives, raisins, and balsamic vinegar. This cooks for a few minutes while the sauce reduces and the chicken finishes cooking. Lastly you add the fresh basil and then serve. I served it over orzo with a side of steamed broccoli.

Russ and I really enjoyed the flavors of this dish. We tend to really like the combination of tomatoes and green olives and then when you mix in golden raisins, basil, wine and balsamic vinegar it just becomes even better. This was a very flavorful dinner that came together quickly with not too much effort. Russ rates it a 10! I followed the recipe as is except that I only cooked two chicken breasts.