Rev: Another winner from Faye Levy: Savory Chicken with Olives

[Ohioan]

So far, I'm two for two on Faye Levy's 1,000 Jewish Recipes, which is turning out to be one of my best cookbook buys in years. Tonight I made her Savory Chicken with Olives, and I would have licked the plate ... well, okay, so I did lick the plate. :p

Anyway, here are my tweaks: I took the parsley option instead of the cilantro, and I used dried jalapeno flakes from Penzey's, so I'm not sure whether I used more or less than the recipe calls for. :rolleyes: I also used a bit less tomato -- but to tell the truth, I eyeballed most of the measurements.

Levy recommends serving this with a rice pilaf from her book, one made with pecans and raisins. I served it with penne instead (thrown in with the chicken for the last couple of minutes to absorb the sauce), but I'm thinking of adding raisins to the sauce next time to get the same combination of sweet and salty. Meanwhile, here's the original recipe, scaled down to two servings:


* Exported from MasterCook *

Savory Chicken with Olives

Recipe By :Faye Levy
Serving Size : 2

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 lg onion -- chopped
1 lb skinless chicken breast halves
Salt and pepper -- to taste
3 cloves garlic -- minced
1/2 jalapeno pepper -- chopped
1/8 c chopped fresh cilantro -- or Italian parsley
2 1/4 c ripe tomatoes -- peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 c water
3/8 c pitted green olives

Heat oil. Add onion and saute over medium heat about 5 minutes or until softened. Add chicken pieces, sprinkle with pepper, and saute with onion, turning often, about 5 minutes or until onion begins to brown. Add garlic, jalapeno pepper, and half the cilantro or parsley to the pan and saute a few seconds. Stir in tomatoes, pepper flakes, cumin, and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat about 45 minutes or until chicken is tender. Skim fat from sauce. Add olives and half of remaining cilantro or parsley to sauce and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning. Serve sprinkled with remaining cilantro or parsley.

Source:
"1,000 Jewish Recipes"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 321 Calories; 9g Fat (25.5% calories from fat); 45g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 105mg Cholesterol; 361mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 6 Lean Meat; 2 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat.

NOTES : Tested.
Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

[wallycat]

Phoebe,
I hope you're happy...I now own this cookbook :o ;)

I got a fabulous deal at 1/2 price books...and it looks brand new.
It was $7.00 plus I get 10% librarian discount :D :p
cool...
keep your reviews coming....
and here I was looking for ways to use up my olives :) :)

By the way, how many chix breasts do you think a pound is equal to??

Oh, and thanks for sharing :D ;)

[Ohioan]

wallycat,
Where I get my chicken, I never know whether a pound will be two half-breasts or a single half-breast. It all depends on what size chickens the butcher got that day! :D But I'd say allow a half-breast per portion, and devil take the poundage! (Oooo, she's so reckless tonight!) (And she's using so many exclamation points!) (And so many parentheses!) (Quick, someone, stop her!)

Sorry. It's been a long day.... :p :D

Oops, editing to add that the half-breasts are skinless but not boneless. I think the bones add flavor to the sauce.

Cheers,
Phoebe

[DmOrtega]

Would you mind posting the rice recipe that she recommends? TIA.

[Ohioan]

I'm just typing this in, so I don't have the nutritional values available:

Rice Pilaf with Golden Raisins and Pistachios

From 1,000 Jewish Recipes by Faye Levy

Note: She recommends substituting dark raisins and pecans to go with the Savory Chicken With Olives.

Serves: 4

2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 small onion, minced
1 cup long-grain rice
2 cups chicken stock or water, heated
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tsp finely grated orange rind
1/3 to 1/2 cup shelled toasted pistachios

1. Heat oil in a deep skillet or saute pan, add onion, and cook over low heat about 5 minutes or until tender. Add rice and saute over medium heat, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add hot stock, bay leaf, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir once. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Add raisins without stirring. Cover and cook about 8 minutes or until rice is just tender. Let stand off heat, covered, 10 minutes.

2. Fluff rice lightly with a fork. Using fork, lightly stir in orange rind. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve pilaf in a shallow bowl, garnished with pistachios.

Cheers,
Phoebe

[sunberst]

i took the cilantro option.

this was great. although i felt the cooking time was off. i checked it after 30 minutes of simmering and it was just starting to get a little dry/over-cooked. so i know that 45 minutes would have been too long for me.

the cilantro gave this awesome flavor. reminded me of this indian dish i had recently- chickpeas with cilantro, tomato & lemon.

used canned tomatoes & it was fine.

yes, you should make this.