Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Tomatoes Capers Basil is a healthy, delicious meal for any day of the week. 230 calories/serving; 3 Freestyle points.
These Sauteed Chicken Breasts are so versatile, they can be topped with just about anything…pesto, sauteed mushrooms, a lemon-caper sauce, use your imagination. I had a few leftover Sauteed Chicken Breasts and served them for dinner another night with a sauce made by sauteing onion and garlic in olive oil, then adding capers, green olives, chicken broth and lemon juice (I was trying to use up odds and ends in my refrigerator).This summer has been a nice time to try new quick and easy recipes, the simpler the better, the less time behind the stove even better. Our baseball season wrapped up this past weekend, and today I am sharing a recipe for Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Tomatoes Capers Basil, from Irma S. Rombauer’s The Joy of Cooking that I made on one of our game days. This dish can be made ahead of time – even better in my book.
This week, Irma S. Rombauer is being honored by a small group of food bloggers as one of 50 Women Game-Changers in food recently recognized by Gourmet Live. We’ve been cooking our way through this list of 50 influential women in food, selecting a recipe from each of them to try each week.
Kate Sekules, who came up with this list on Gourmet Live, says “In all its eight versions, and all its 75+ years, The Joy of Cooking is arguably the essential American cookbook. Irma wrote (and published) the first version in 1931, giving birth-literally-to a culinary dynasty.” Julia Child once said it’s the one book she’d keep if she could only have one English title on the shelf. Craig Claiborne called The Joy of Cooking the “finest basic cookbook available. It is a masterpiece of clarity.”
Aside from the fact that The Joy of Cooking contains nearly 5,000 recipes, I was most impressed by the level of detail in the recipes’ instructions. This is definitely an encyclopedia of recipes, including food and food preparation illustrations, substitution charts, and tutorials. Recipes cover all the food groups, and range from the most simple and basic – how to hard boil an egg – to the more sophisticated and unusual – Andalusian Partridge, making Joy of Cooking a lifelong cookbook to have in any cookbook collection, perfect for the beginner cook as well as the avid cook to reference for almost any recipe.
I was looking for a recipe to use some of the fresh tomatoes and basil from my CSA Box, and found a recipe for Sauteed Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast with Tomatoes, Capers and Basil. The chicken breasts can be sauteed ahead of time, and the sauce can also be made ahead of time. I was rushing off to a baseball game, and made both the sauteed chicken breasts and sauce before the game. After we got home, I simply reheated the chicken breasts in the tomato basil sauce. I actually sliced the chicken breasts which made it quicker to reheat this dish.
Sauteed Chicken Breast with Tomatoes, Capers and Basil
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast
Sauteed Chicken Breast
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup flour or cornstarch for gluten-free option
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Tomato Caper Basil Sauce
- 1/2 cup shallots or scallions minced
- 1/4 cup dry white wine or vermouth
- 2 cups tomatoes seeded, chopped
- 2 tablespoons capers rinsed, drained
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil finely shredded
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Sauteed Chicken Breast
-
Coat the chicken on both sides with the flour (or cornstarch), pressing to make the tenderloins, the thin strips of meat on the undersides of the breasts, adhere.
-
Gently shake off the excess flour, holding the chicken tapered side up to avoid detaching the tenderloins.
-
Heat olive oil in a heavy 10-12 inch skillet over medium heat. Arrange chicken tenderloin side down in the skillet and saute for exactly 4 minutes.
-
Using tongs, turn the chicken and cook until the flesh feels firm to the touch and milky juices appear around the tenderloins, 3-5 minutes more.
-
Remove to a platter and keep warm in a 200 degree oven while you prepare the sauce.
-
Remove all but 2 tablespoons of oil from skillet for sauce.
Tomato Caper Basil Sauce
-
Heat skillet that you used for cooking chicken. Add shallots and cook, stirring, until shallots are softened, about 1 minute.
-
Increase heat to high and add wine. Boil, scraping the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon, until the win is almost evaporated.
-
Stir in tomatoes, capers and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until tomates have given up their juice, creating a thick chunky puree, about 2 minutes.
-
Add any accumulated chicken juices and boil the sauce until thick.
-
Remove from the heat, and stir in basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
3 Freestyle points
This is one of those dishes that we just have to add to our summer recipes. It is so perfect for the season!
There is a wonderful used cookbook store in Assonet, Massachusetts (near Fall River) that has every edition of The Joy of Cooking, multiples of most. It's fascinating to page through the oldest editions to see how cooking has changed.
Great recipe, Jeanette. This is my favorite way to cook chicken, just simple and healthy. The combination of shallots and vermouth is always a winner. Your photo should be in the book!
tomatoes, capers, and basil are an awesome flavorful combo 😀 have a wonderful weekend, jeanette.
I do love the use of 'basic recipes' in Joy of Cooking that allow you to take a dish in many different directions! Your chicken treatment is so summery! Perfect post and a good tribute to Irma Rombauer!
Yum this looks fabulous
I would love to track down various editions of The Joy of Cooking to see the evolution of this cookbook and its recipes.
This is a super versatile recipe, perfect for when school starts. I might make a big batch of the sauteed chicken breasts and just change up the sauce for two nights worth of dinners for my boys.
A great tribute followed by a great recipe. GREG
Now that looks like a great summer meal…and it sounds delicious, as well. Perfect tribute 😀
Ah, The Joy of Cooking, a classic indeed and you've done such a great job with this recipe – it looks scrumptious!
Lovely meal, Jeanette! 🙂 I'm a Joy of Cooking fan. My copy is 30+ years old and I still reference it fairly often. That says a lot. My edition has no photos, just line drawings, which I actually like. Now I'm wondering if photos were added later. I suspect not …
xo,
Shirley
Your whole meal looks just beautiful and so well balanced. I'm enjoying cooking along with you!
Your photos turned out fabulous. I love the Joy of Cooking. I reference this book several times a week!
Joy of cooking was my very first cookbook. (now I'm up to about 100…) This recipe looks prefect. Great use of seasonal ingredients.
Jeanette this is such a vibrant chicken dish. We are always up for capers in our house. Summer basil makes everything tasty.