I offer up this recipe today in hopes that you will try it soon! I always love a great recipe and this one is just that! This item has been on my catering menu for some 20+ years, clients request it constantly. "Chicken Veronique" is a french classic and recipes vary; this is my own version, and it is so tasty as well as simple to make! Yet it offers a stylish presentation, unsurpassed taste, and what I call "The Sizzle Factor" ! I love to serve this dish on top of fresh sauteed spinach with fried fingerling potatoes as a side. My sister "Inki" says this is one of her favorite dishes I have ever prepared for her, she is always my first test subject, even though she is always honest to a fault . . . LOL!
Chicken Veronique: serves 6
- Six boneless chicken breasts, dredged in seasoned (salt, pepper, and garlic powder) flour www.goldmedalflour.com. Fry in as little oil as possible and transfer to a baking dish and keep warm in the oven.
- After the chicken is cooked, remove excess oil from the frying pan, add 2 minced shallots, cooking 2 minutes, and deglaze the frypan with 1 cup dry white wine, reducing by half. Add 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice, 2 tablespoons fresh orange zest, 3 tablespoons orange marmalade www.robertlambert.com, 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley, and some red pepper flakes to taste, and continue to cook, reducing again by half. Add chicken back to pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup halved seedless White Grapes over the chicken and serve!
Like I said, I love this chicken served over fresh wilted spinach**. When wilting spinach you must know it reduces to almost nothing very quickly! I suggest using a large saute pan and to it add 3 tablepoons olive oil, with one minced shallot, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, and 3 tablespoons minced red bell pepperCook the shallot and pepper for about 2 minutes, then add the spinach with a quick sprinkle of salt and it will wilt very fast! Do not overcook–in fact, I suggest that as it shrinks to about halfway where you want it, it is done! Place it in the center of the plate, add the chicken, and some of the sauce over the chicken. I then place 3-4 fried fingerling potatoes around the plate, and it’s all done. For visual impact I often garnish the plate with segments of blood orange–that beautiful ruby color of the fruit adds an elegant touch! This recipe takes about 30 minutes start to finish….how great is that!
As always, I have a wine suggestion to take this from a family dinner to an elegantly stylish menu for an over-the -top dinner party. My choice is a "Cakebread Cellars’ Chardonnay" www.cakebread.com.
** If Spinach is not your thing, try serving over a bed of "Cargo Rice" with some toasted almonds www.bluediamond.com added to it after the rice is cooked. If you do not know about Cargo Rice, it is a Red Rice with a beautiful nutty, earthy flavor. You will find it in your local Asian markets. Remember to salt the rice while cooking, as this is a hard-shelled rice, and the salt softens the husk on the rice.
As always, I have a wine suggestion for this recipe when served with "Cargo Rice"–a beautiful "Dry Creek Chennin Blanc, Sonoma". This crisp wine is perfect with this dish, it will round out the flavors of both the recipe and the wine to perfection! www.drycreekvineyard.com
