Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Chicken with Orange-Feta Salsa

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This dinner perfectly epitomizes the way I have been eating lately -- it's light, healthy, filling, and really pretty!  Don't you just love pretty food?  A super simple strategy for putting together a healthy and flavorful dinner is just pairing a lean protein with a quick salsa or relish.  Here, I paired seared chicken breast with a simple salsa of oranges, scallions, and feta cheese.  It's seemingly basic and simple, but it is SO bright and flavorful.  The combination of the sweet and sunny oranges pairs really well with the salty feta, and the scallions give it just enough bite to keep it interesting.  I think this salsa would be wonderful over any fish, shrimp, or even pork tenderloin.

I kept it simple when I made this chicken, and served it with roasted asparagus, but I think any green vegetable would be great.  The salsa was really tasty over the asparagus as well!  This dinner was a big hit all around, and we practically licked our plates clean.

As we're transitioning from winter to spring, we also transition to lighter, brighter meals, and this one is definitely a winner!

Chicken with Orange-Feta Salsa


Chicken with Orange-Feta Salsa
adapted from ATK's Healthy Family Cookbook
serves 4

Chicken
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 (6-oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 Tbs canola oil
Relish
  • 4 oranges
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbs water
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/3 cup crumbled feat cheese
  • 3 scallions, sliced thin

Spread the flour into an even layer in a pie plate or shallow dish.  Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper.  Lightly dredge the chicken in the flour, and shake off the excess.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook 6 minutes, then flip.  Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until the chicken is cooked through (160-165 degrees), another 5 to 7 minutes.  Transfer the chicken to a platter and tent loosely with aluminum foil.  Remove the skillet from the heat, but don't wash yet!

For the relish:  

Slice the top and bottom off of the orange, then cut away the peel and the pith (the white part) with a paring knife.  Quarter the peeled orange, the slice each quarter cross-wise into 1 inch pieces.

Return the skillet to medium heat, and add the garlic.  Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then stir in the oranges and water.  Scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon, then cook until th eoranges are just softened, 1 to 2 minutes.  

Remove the orange salsa from the pan into a medium bowl, then stir in the feta and scallions.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Arrange the chicken on a platter, then top with the salsa.  Serve.


4 comments:

Josie said...

Dang there is something about this recipe that I really like. That relish is GREAT and quite usable for other situations too. Just sprinkled over a green salad for example. Gyros-----blah blah blah. Smiles-----

Josie said...

I'm so intrigued by that salsa! I'm not sure that I've ever seen oranges, feta, and scallions in the same place before...but I'm intrigued. And definitely ready for some lighter meals!!

Josie said...

I made this for dinner last night--I was a little bit unsure of how the orange would play into a savory dish, but YOLO, right? Ha :) Anyway, I am so glad I tried this--it was DELICIOUS!! Thank you for sharing. Not sure I would have tried making this on my own if one of my favorite food blogs hadn't made it first!

Josie said...

Yay, I'm so glad you liked it, Sarah! I agree, I was a bit unsure at first too, but I had a big bowl full of oranges, so why not?!

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