Chicken Breasts with Artichoke Hearts
Serves 6 to 8.
By Dennis W. Viau; modified from The Fine Art of Italian Cooking by Giuliano Bugialli.
The cookbook describes this as “Florentine style.” If you like artichoke hearts (I do), this combination with chicken breast pieces is delicious and it is also easy to make. It can be prepared quickly. The original recipe did not call for pasta, but I thought the addition of penne was ideal.
Ingredients:
3 to 4 artichoke hearts, coarsely chopped
½ cup (118ml) olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 whole chicken breasts, skinless and boneless, fairly large (8 oz./227g) each, cut into 1-inch (2.5cm) cubes
1 cup (approximate) all-purpose flour for dusting
1 lemon
(Optional) 2 anchovy fillets
1 cup (227ml) dry white wine (more if you prefer more sauce for serving this dish over pasta)
(Optional) penne or other small pasta, or rice
Directions:
If artichokes are jarred with vinegar, transfer to a jar or bowl with fresh water to soak several hours, preferably overnight. It won’t remove all the vinegar flavor, but the flavor that remains will work well in the dish because of the lemon juice also used.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy skillet. Add the chopped artichoke hearts and sauté over medium heat until they begin to brown. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the artichokes to a heavy casserole (I use an enameled cast iron Dutch oven) and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in the skillet. Lightly dredge the cubed chicken breast pieces in the all-purpose flour and add to the skillet. (I did this in two batches.) Sauté gently over medium-low heat until cooked and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and season lightly with salt and pepper. Transfer the chicken to the casserole with the artichoke hearts.
While the chicken is cooking, zest the lemon with a microplane grater or use a vegetable peeler to remove just the yellow skin, then chop well. Juice the lemon, straining out the seeds.
Pour the wine into the skillet and add the lemon zest and juice, along with the anchovy fillets (optional). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Use a wooden spoon or other utensil to break up the anchovy and loosen the fond (brown bits), thus deglazing the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer to reduce the liquid by more than half, about 15 minutes, making a thin sauce.
Add the sauce (strain if desired) to the casserole. Gently mix to coat the chicken and artichoke pieces with sauce. Transfer to a serving platter (or serve from the casserole) and serve over rice or pasta.
If using the optional pasta or rice, start it cooking in boiling water while the wine sauce is being reduced. Plate the cooked pasta (or rice) and spoon plenty of the chicken and artichoke pieces over the top.
If you believe this recipe is worth having, please consider making a donation toward this web site's maintenance. Thank you.
