Chicken Breast with Kiwifruit

We buy a basket of fruits and vegetables each week from a local company – we never know what will be in the basket, but I enjoy trying new things. One item in the basket was leeks. I have never cooked with them before, so I found a recipe on About.com to try. When I make a new recipe, I make as it is printed that first time. This recipe has good flavors, but next time I will change a few things that I think will make it even better. In this recipe, they have you simmer the chicken in chicken broth – yum – boiled chicken (not) – next time I will sauté the chicken and get a good sear on it. I’ll sauté it with onions, celery, and a bit of olive oil.

I love Swanson chicken broth because they don't add MSG (which gives me migraines). But boiled chicken just doen't do it for me.

Here is the recipe:
4 cups chicken broth (no, don’t do it – it would be better sautéed).
5 boneless skinless chicken breasts (they called for bone in – isn’t happening here)
1 stalk celery – chopped
1 leek, white part only, chopped (use green onions or regular onions for better flavor)
6 kiwi fruit – peeled and sliced (completely unnecessary component of this recipe)

The sauce is wonderful, but they don’t have you make enough of it. I am going to give you the ingredients doubled. It really needed more sauce than the original recipe makes.
2 oranges
2 lemons
2 TBS butter
2 TBS sugar
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Bring chicken broth to a boil in large saucepan. Add chicken and simmer 10 minutes, skimming off any scum (I can't get excited about a recipe that has scum in it) that rises to the top. Add celery and leeks and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Remove chicken from broth and keep warm. (Broth may be strained and reserved for other uses.)

Again, don’t do this – sauté your chicken with olive oil, onions, and celery.

Arrange kiwifruit in a fan-shaped pattern on a serving dish. The kiwi didn’t add anything to the dish; plus the seeds seemed a bit gritty when eaten with the chicken. Next time I won’t bother with the kiwi – although I do love kiwi.

Zest the rind of half of the orange. Sprinkle zest over kiwifruit. If you don’t use the kiwi, you can forgo this step.

Juice the oranges and lemons into a small bowl. Heat butter in a small saucepan and add sugar. Stir until sugar is melted and begins to carmelize (begins to darken), about 5 minutes. Add orange and lemon juices, stirring until incorporated. Boil until the sauce is reduced and begins to thicken. Stir in salt and cayenne pepper.
This is the best part of this recipe. The sauce is so good.

Slice chicken into strips, place on kiwi and top with the sauce.

I don't care for the texture of boiled chicken even when boiled in broth, celery, and leeks.

I made twice baked potatoes and steamed broccoli to go along with the chicken. It was a yummy dinner, but next time the chicken will be even better.

I don’t have a recipe for the twice baked potatoes. I cut them in half, mash the insides, and add butter, milk, sour cream, paprika, chives, salt, and pepper. Mix them up, put them back in the shells, top them with shredded cheddar cheese, and bake them at 350 degrees until the cheese melts.

The broccoli was mild flavored – very tender and yummy.

Overall dinner was a hit with eveyone. Next time it will be even better.




Don't be afraid to add your own touches and tastes to a recipe.