RFCJ RECIPE ARCHIVE
Posted by : Karen Selwyn Chicken in Orange Sauce, Mexican/Sephardic - meat
This recipe is my version of a recipe I got originally from GOURMET or BON APPETIT in the early-'80s. In developing my version, I cooked this recipe a lot, and then abandoned it in favor of new recipes. This newsgroup has caused me to take a new look at the recipe. I suddenly realized that if I took the word "Mexican" off the title and simply looked at the ingredients I could see a strong connection to Sephardic cooking. Now I'm no expert, but being logical, I'm surmising this recipe made its way to Mexico in the same way that Spanish Jews made their way to Spanish speaking colonies in the New World in the centuries after the Inquisition. With the olives, oranges, and almonds, I'd say this is a good candidate for Tu B'Shevat. I haven't made this in ages, and now I'm pleased to have a reason to exhume it from my recipe files. As an aside, I submitted this recipe to a cooking contest sponsored by Delmarva chickens in '81 and was accepted as a finalist, although I didn't win a prize. Karen Selwyn * * * * * * * Mexican/Sephardic Chicken in Orange Sauce 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved olive oil 2 medium onions, diced 4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced 12 large stuffed olives, sliced 2 1/2 tablespoons raisins 2 1/2 tablespoons capers 2 cups orange juice 1 seedless orange, peeled and diced 1/2 cup sliced almonds Cook the onion in olive oil in a covered saute pan over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove cover and continue cooking over low heat until limp, translucent and golden, approximately 20 minutes. Add tomatoes, olives, raisins, and capers. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat and simmer over medium heat for approximately 10 minutes until some of the liquid has evaporated. Add orange juice and stir until well blended and any brown bits are loosened from the pan. Stir in orange bits. Set aside. In a large saute pan, cook chicken breasts in olive oil until brown on both sides. Pour orange-olive sauce over the chicken. Bring sauce to a boil. Cover chicken and simmer for 20 minutes. Alternatively: Place chicken in shallow baking dish; pour sauce over chicken breasts. Cover and bake in 350 dgree oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove cover and bake additional 10 minutes. Sprinkle with almonds before serving.
