Chicken Sabate
Lynley Jones
Chicken breasts infused with white wine, garlic, rosemary and cinnamon, in a cherry tomato sauce. Check out the Notes section at the bottom for the story of how this totally grown-up dish was invented by a 5 year-old.
This recipe originally appeared in Why Did the Chicken Cross the Globe?
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
Chicken Sabate (photograph by Deborah Guzman-Meyer)
1/2 cup dry white wine or dry French vermouth
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more if needed
ground black pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon fresh, minced rosemary
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
1/4-1/2 cup Chicken Stock
Optional: minced parsley for garnish
Instructions
1. Combine the wine, salt, pepper, rosemary and garlic in a large bowl. Separately, place each chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap, then use a mallet or heavy pan to pound them thin. Add the pounded chicken breasts to the wine mixture and marinate for up to 30 minutes. (Turn the chicken periodically to keep it evenly exposed to the marinade.)
2. While the chicken marinates, put the tomatoes in a separate bowl and use a fork or potato masher to gently crush. (Careful - the juice will squirt out!)
3. Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Reserving the marinade, remove the chicken and saute it in the pan until cooked through, 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken. When finished, rest the chicken on a plate, tented with foil, while you make the sauce.
4. Turn the heat to high and pour the wine marinade into the skillet, reserving the garlic. Allow the wine mixture to come to a boil and reduce by about half, while you scrape the bottom of the skillet with a wooden or rubber spatula. Add the reserved garlic, tomatoes, cinnamon stick and chicken broth to the skillet. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to medium-high and allow the flavors to combine while the sauce simmers with the lid askew, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the chicken back to the pan, turning to combine evenly with the sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Serve the chicken on a platter, nestled in the sauce.
Notes:
I wish I could take credit for this dish. But I can’t.
It was created by a 5 year-old boy named Nicholas, with just a little help from his dad. You can read the whole story here. The sauce is really great, a combination of flavors that works together perfectly.
Spices and ingredients used in this dish:
Cassia is the familiar type of cinnamon we grew up with the in United States. Warm, sultry and comforting. Steep it in a hot drink, use it in oatmeal or dessert, or make something savory with it.
Organic and fair-trade. We get our flavorful organic peppercorns from India. They’re bright and aromatic, with a nicely balanced flavor. A great stealth ingredient to take your everyday cooking up a notch. 1/2 cup-sized jar.
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Thank you to Rob and Nicholas Maurizi for the original version of this recipe.