Chicken in Light Creamy Chive Sauce
Get a group of moms together (sorry to be sexist--dads too) at a late afternoon soccer pickup and the conversation will invariably turn to what everyone's making for dinner. For years, probably about a decade, I didn't have much to contribute, because my boys only ate fried chicken cutlets and pizza or bowls of Special K (yeah, I know--pathetic!) so it was kind of pointless trying out new dishes that only my husband and I would like (my daughter was still a baby back then). But now that everyone's totally open to trying new things, I am always on the hunt for easy weeknight chicken recipes. This one has the added bonus of a decadent-seeming cream sauce but is magically low in fat and calories, with less than 250 calories per serving and only 9 grams of fat. A real win-win for everyone! Now if only the soccer team could do the same!
Do you like chives? They really are the stars of this dish and though you could probably use freeze-dried ones here, I would highly recommend using fresh ones. They really give this dish a wonderful flavor and tang and it only takes a minute or so to chop them up.
You start off by seasoning the chicken and dredging it in flour.
Then, you saute it in a large skillet.
Once that's done, you make the lick-your-plate-clean sauce by sauteing shallots, adding in a bit of flour, some dry white wine and chicken broth until it's reduced a bit. Then you add back in the chicken, let the whole thing simmer for a while, stir in the light sour cream, mustard and chives and you're all done. The whole thing takes about 40 minutes and a lot of it is hands-off, which leaves you plenty of time to make some veggies and maybe some rice or mashed potatoes, to sop up all that good sauce.
Another great dish to add to the dinner rotation...and a lot more interesting for me to talk about on the soccer sidelines!
Chicken in Light Creamy Chive Sauce
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
1-1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thin sliced if possible, if not pound them to be about 1/2 inch thick
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour, divided
3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 large shallots, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
14 oz can chicken broth
1/3 cup light sour cream
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup chives, chopped
The Recipe
1. Season both sides of chicken cutlets with 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt. Place 1/4 cup of the flour into a shallow bowl and coat both sides of the chicken with it. Transfer chicken to a plate. Throw out any excess flour.
2. Over medium-high heat, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large nonstick frying pan. Add chicken and cook 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Transfer to a clean plate.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the pan and add the shallots, constantly scraping any browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes until they are golden brown. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour and stir well to coat the shallots with the flour. Add the wine, broth and remaining salt and bring to a boil, stirring often. Now lower the heat to a simmer and return the chicken and any juices on the plate that have accumulated to the pan. Cook for about 6-10 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked and heated through. Then stir in the sour cream and mustard, turning the chicken over so that the cutlet gets coated in the sauce. Add the chives, stir to mix and serve.
4. Chicken keeps in an airtight container for 2-3 days in the refrigerator.
Note: Recipe adapted from Healthy in a Hurry by Jim Romanoff and the authors of Eating Well Magazine.
