Notes on the Recipe
Excluding the marinating time, this dish takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and uses only one pan. It is classic to the Normandy region of France, famous for its apples, pears and dairy products. The original recipe calls for a touch of Calvados, a brandy made from apples. Calvados is expensive, but you can substitute American Applejack.
Normandy cuisine gets a bad rap from some quarters because it relies on a lot of butter and cream. However, this is a good entrée for those on a high-protein diet, and it is only 460 calories per serving. Despite the high-cholesterol diet, life expectancy in Normandy is among the world's best! Go figure.
This recipe serves four people.
Ingredients
There are only seven ingredients:
- 4 boneless chicken breasts, skin removed
- 4 Tbs Calvados or Applejack
- 1 Tbs oil
- 2 tbs unsalted butter
- 1 cooking apple, peeled and cored
- 1 Tbs chopped shallots
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- Chopped parsley, chervil or other herb for garnish.
Directions
- Sprinkle breasts with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place breasts between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper and pound until a uniform 1/4" thick. Toss with half the Calvados and marinate 1 - 24 hours.
- In a hot skillet, saute breasts in oil, about 3 minutes per side. Reserve and keep them warm.
- Cut the apple into 12 wedges. Cook the apple wedges and shallots in 2 tbs butter for 5 minutes. Add the remaining Calvados and cook 1 minute. Add cream and cook for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Plate the chicken breasts and pour the sauce over them. Garnish with chopped herbs.
Serving Suggestion
I'd serve this chicken with a green vegetable like stringbeans or broccoli. If you want a starch, try a rice pilaf or just plain boiled potatoes.
Make Your Own Applejack
While Calvados is expensive, Applejack isn't all that cheap either, but you can make your own from inexpensive apple wine. All you need is a freezer and a bit of patience. The idea is to chill the wine so that the water in it freezes, and the alcohol stays liquid. (Alcohol's freezing point is lower than that of water.) Then you scoop off the ice that has formed and repeat the process. With each repetition, the alcohol and apple flavor concentrations increase. You'll find an excellent article on this subject with detailed how-to instructions here.
Michael Burwen - 30+ years as a business/market analyst for high-tech industry. Long-time interests are wine/food, woodworking, and consumer electronics.
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