This recipe is an all around winner.  It’s adapted from a recipe by dietitian Ellie Krieger, so its healthful.  Add to that it’s easy to make, beautiful on a plate, and the leftovers are absolutely scrumptious!  Unlike the dish you would purchase for Chinese take-out, this chicken stir-fry recipe isn’t fried.  Instead the chicken gets its great flavor via a marinade.  And it only needs to marinate for 20 minutes.

The recipe calls for ‘toasted sesame oil’ but if all you have on hand is regular sesame oil, by all means, use that.  It will still be delicious!  And, like all stir-fries, have your ingredients prepped and at-hand when ready to cook.

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This apple cider chicken recipe was such a pleasant surprise.  With few ingredients and quick prep and cooking time, it delivered a delicious meal that was full of flavor.

Keys to success for this fall recipe are to 1) pound the chicken thin for quick and even cooking (I usually cut each chicken breast in half before pounding; they are a bit easier to handle and cook faster than larger pieces) and 2) watch the cider-Dijon mixture as it reduces; it only takes a few minutes to reduce into a luscious, syrupy glaze.

I have added bacon pieces to the recipe – it was a wonderful compliment to the glaze.  However, by all means, leave it out if you would like to.  Another delicious addition that could be added to the sauce right before serving would be chopped and toasted walnuts or pecans.

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This has fast become a favorite of ours.  Not only because of the exceptional taste, but also because this dish comes together fast.  Really Fast.  Perfect  for a weeknight; impressive enough to serve to company.  I’d recommend doubling the sauce and serving the chicken with rice, making sure to drizzle some of that extra sauce on the rice.

The recipe came from a Gourmet magazine and was entitled “Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Paillard”.  Paillard is a French term that means pounded thin and quickly cooked.  Which is the key to success with this dish.  Do both (pound thin, cook quickly over med-high heat) and you’ll have succulent, tender piece of chicken every time.

Moroccan Spiced Chicken (adapted from Gourmet Magazine, February 2006)

Serves 4

For Sauce:

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. dried red hot pepper flakes
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

For chicken paillards:

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, more if needed
• 4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin, each breast cut in half (so 8 pieces), patted dry

Start Sauce:

1. Add all sauce ingredients except butter in sauce pan, simmer for 2 minutes, stirring.  Set aside.

For Chicken:

1. Add cumin, paprika, salt and pepper to flour, mix well.  Dredge each piece of chicken in flour mixture, shaking off excess.
2. Spray skillet with non-stick cooking spray.  Add olive oil.  Heat on medium-high.  Add 4 chicken pieces.  Cook until nicely browned on each side; just a few minutes on each side.  Remove chicken to plate, cover with foil.  Repeat with remaining chicken pieces, remove to plate and cover.
3. Add sauce to skillet, deglazing skillet.  Add butter, stir to mix in.  Once thickened, about 1 minute, return chicken to skillet, turning once in sauce.  Serve.

A friend told me about this Bon Appetit recipe from 1998 and said that it had become one of her favorite chicken dishes of all time.  And I can understand why! It is, in a nutshell, “scrumptious”!  Between the tender chicken, crunchy crust and the delectable mustard cream sauce  – what’s not to love?

Further – with a bit of advance preparation the actual cooking time is only minutes.  Here’s the game plan for the prep:  1) Make the pistachio-panko crust in food processor ahead of time (up to a day) and keep well covered (ziplock bag would be perfect or plastic wrap secured tightly over a bowl).  2) Make the mustard sauce before you cook the chicken.  This can also be done a day in advance – just keep covered and refrigerated. Reheat before serving.

Some keys to success: 1) Although you are going to make the crust in a food processor – don’t chop too finely.  You want to see little bits of the green pistachios in the crust.  Not only for the visual contrast but also for the terrific crunch. 2) Pound the chicken to a 1/4- 1/3″ even thickness.  This way they will cook evenly and quickly which is important – you don’t want a burned crust and nuts tend to brown very quickly. 3) Don’t add salt to the crust mixture – the pistachios will contribute enough on their own. 4) Use Panko, not regular breadcrumbs, for the crust mixture.  Panko is a Japanese breadcrumb that is extremely dry and has much larger flakes.  Which results in a bigger ‘crunch’.

Pistachio Crusted Chicken (adapted from Bon Appetit, June 1998)

Serves 4

• 1 cup shelled, raw, pistachios (about 4 oz.)
• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp. fresh basil (or 2 tsp. dried)*
• 1 Tbsp. fresh dill (or 1 tsp. dried)
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 4 T. olive oil, divided

1. In a food processor combine nuts, Panko and herbs.  Pulse (using on/off turns) until the pistachios look like very small pebbles (so not finely ground).  Put mixture in a large plate or shallow dish.
2. Pat the chicken breast dry. Pound the breasts 1/4″ – 1/3″ thickness (If the breasts are very large cut into 2 pieces).  Spread one side of the breast with the Dijon mustard and then put that side down in the panko mixture.  Press down to ensure that mixture adheres.  Flip chicken breast over and pat mixture over the remaining side.
3. Spray a 12″ pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil to the pan and place over medium heat until the oil shimmers.  Then add 1/2 of the chicken breasts to the pan, mustard side down.  Cook for 2 – 4  minutes and take a peek (at 2 minutes) to see if they browned nicely.  When they do (don’t let them burn) turn them over and finish cooking them, another 5 – 8 minutes. Remove to plate and tent with foil.
4. Remove pan from heat and, with wadded up paper towels, wipe out the pan.  You don’t want to have any burned bits in the pan.  Spray again with non-stick spray and then return to heat and add the remaining 2 Tbsp. of olive oil.  Cook remaining chicken as described above.

Mustard Cream Sauce

• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots**
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil (or 1/4 tsp. dried)
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill (or 1/4 tsp. dried)

1. Boil white wine and shallots in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until liquid just about evaporates, a few minutes.
2. Reduce heat to medium-high.  Add whipping cream and simmer 2 minutes.  Add Dijon mustard and herbs.  Simmer another 2 minutes to blend flavors.  Season sauce with salt and pepper.

*  Herbs, fresh or dried, can get pricey.  Feel free to use only basil or only dill.

**Shallots are a relative of the onion but have a milder, sweeter taste.  They are often used, finely chopped, in salad dressings and sauces.

I remember laughing at the name of this recipe when I first came across it.  But after just one bite I understood.  It is unbelievably delicious.  I think the original recipe was posted on Allrecipes.com and it called for a considerable amount of oil in the marinade (6 T.)   That much wasn’t necessary and, in my opinion, diluted the flavor of the marinade.  So in this version of the recipe I have brought the amount of olive oil down to 1 T.

The other thing I’ve changed is I call for chicken that has been pounded thin (1/4 inch or so) so that the chicken breasts cook evenly and quickly.  Once a breast is pounded I also typically cut it in two before adding it to the marinade.  That way there is more surface area to drink in the marinade and caramelize when it hits the grill.

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