Sunday, August 10, 2008

Chicken with Artichokes and Basmati Rice

This is a quick post! I made this chicken dinner last week and finally have a minute now on Sunday to post. I say only a minute because I'm in between baking homemade peach muffins, making homemade peach ice cream, and starting dinner. Basically, I have peaches coming out of my...well you know. I went peach picking on Friday and came home with a bounty. But that's another post. For now, it's the chicken. This was a Rachael Ray recipe from her magazine in May 2008. I made a few variations to the recipe however. Instead of using orzo, I put the chicken on a bed of basmati rice. Why? Because I thought the flavor combinations would be out of this world. No not really. Mainly just because I had basmati rice and didn't have orzo.
Secondly, she uses dill and jarred hot cherry peppers. I used fresh oregano and jarred roasted red peppers. The combo of dill with the other flavors seemed odd to me. But also, I have oregano growing on my patio and I don't have dill. Again, changes of convenience. Also, I pounded my chicken breasts and dipped them in flour before pan sauteeing them. Rach doesn't do that. Anyway, here you go!

Chicken With Artichokes, Roasted Red Peppers and Basmati Rice

2 chicken breasts
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
1 can of artichoke hearts, chopped or cut in half if you prefer
1 8oz. jar of roasted red peppers
3 tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano
1/2 of a vidalia onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth

2 cups basmati rice, prepared according to package directions

Lay your chicken breasts on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. With your meat tenderizer or hammer, flatten the chicken breasts.
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Then sprinkle the breasts with salt and pepper on both sides and then coat with your flour. In a saute pan, combine your olive oil and butter over medium heat. Once hot, add your chicken breasts. Cook for about 5 mins. on each side until golden brown.
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Remove from the pan and set aside, tent with foil to keep warm. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to your pan and then add the onion and garlic.
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Saute in the chicken drippings until softened. Then add the wine, chicken broth and oregano.
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Boil until reduced by half, scraping up the chicken bits as you stir.
Meanwhile, chop your artichokes and drain your roasted red peppers.
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Once the liquid has reduced, add them to the pan until heated through. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
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Finally return your chicken cutlets to the pan to reheat and bring the flavors together.
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Remove from the heat. Place your chicken over a large spoonful of rice, then spoon your artichoke mixture over top, garnish with a sprig of oregano if you'd like and serve. Enjoy!
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2 comments:

Sarah said...

This sounds wonderful. Thanks for posting! It's going on my next menu.

Mandy said...

“Instead of using orzo, I put the chicken on a bed of basmati rice. Why? Because I thought the flavor combinations would be out of this world. No not really. Mainly just because I had basmati rice and didn't have orzo.” I am laughing so hard in my cube over this post. You are too funny!