- 8
- 15 mins
- 45 mins
Ingredients
- 4 skinned and boned chicken breasts (about 2 lb.)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 12 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
- 1 cup reduced-sodium fat-free chicken broth
- 4 large peaches, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 2 cups)
- Garnish: fresh basil leaves
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Cook chicken in hot oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from skillet, reserving drippings in skillet.
Reduce heat to medium. Add shallot to hot drippings in skillet, and sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 45 to 60 seconds or until fragrant. Add basil, chicken broth, and peaches. Return chicken to skillet, and turn to coat. Season with a little more salt and pepper (optional).
Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until chicken is done. Serve with rice or couscous and spoon sauce over.
Notes:
I would add another whole 12 leaves of basil. If we’re being honest here, it gets a little lost in the dish as is.
Our chicken breasts were probably a little too thick. Next time I might cut them in half.
I wanted to season it all up a little more somehow after tasting it. It’s a tad on the bland side, tasty enough but just enough that I wished for a little more flavor. Our peaches were a little under-ripe and that could have had something to do with it, although they were still nicely sweet. Also, browning the chicken a little more might help to add some flavor. I might also try covering the pan with some foil so that the moisture in the pan can help moisten the chicken more next time.
We needed about 25 minutes for our chicken to be completely done.
If I was to try and thicken the sauce after everything else was cooked and removed from pan, I’d mix in a bit of diluted corn starch and a splash only of whole milk or cream to give the sauce a little more body over medium-high heat on the stove top, stirring till simmering and thickened. I’d also season a tad more with salt and pepper.
Oh hey – we didn’t peel our peaches. 1. we just didn’t wanna, also known as, maybe, the lazies, and 2. why bother when the skin is perfectly edible? Cooked down you don’t really notice it anyway. But do peel if the idea is unappealing to you.