Chicken a L’Orange

In keeping with our French theme for the week, I found a wonderful recipe which reminded me of one of my all time favorite French dishes, Duck a L’Orange.  This time I substituted Chicken for the Duck.  This is a fun dish to prepare when you are feeling a little tense or frustrated as you get to take out some of your frustration by pounding the Chicken Breasts with a mallet or the bottom of a frying pan.  That always works for me.

But seriously, the depth of flavors in this dish makes it almost magical.  It’s sweet and savory with just a touch of heat.

From our kitchen to yours.  Enjoy the adventure.

Ingredients

Chicken a L'Orange

¼ cup Orange Juice, freshly squeezed

2 Chicken Breasts, boneless and skinless

½ cup White Wine

½ tsp Tarragon, dried

2 tsp Olive Oil

1 medium Shallot, minced

1/8 tsp crushed Red Pepper flakes

¼ tsp Garlic powder

Instructions

Prepare the Chicken Breasts by first slicing them horizontally into two pieces.  Place the pieces on a hard flat surface, such as a cutting board. Cover each piece with plastic wrap and pound the Chicken to about a ¼ inch thickness.  Lightly season each piece with Salt and Pepper.

Into a hot skillet add the Oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Once the Oil is heated and fragrant, about 1 minute, reduce the heat to medium and add the Chicken Breasts.  Cook the Chicken until nicely golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes for the first side and 4 minutes for the second.  Remove the Chicken to a plate.

Add another bit of Oil to the pan and once fragrant, add the Shallots, Red Pepper flakes and Garlic.  Cook until the Shallots become translucent, about 1 minute.  Add the Wine and allow the mixture to reduce by 1/3, scraping the brown bits on the bottom as you stir.  Add the Orange Juice and Tarragon and continue to cook until the mixture reduces by half.

Return the Chicken to the pan and cook for about 1 minute.  We served the dish with ½ cup of Brown Rice, 3 points and some steamed yellow squash and red peppers.  Yields 2 servings.  PointsPlus value per serving is 9. Prep time is about 15 minutes.  Cooking time is about 13 minutes.  Level of difficulty is Easy.

Weight Watchers and PointsPlus are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers Intl. Inc.

Recipes shown may not be exactly the same as those found on any website. Judy and I tend to "tweak" each recipe we feature, to some degree, incorporating our own unique tastes and ideas. PointsPlus values, however, are accurate. 

Photo by Barry Baruh