I forget the exact restaurant (in the southwestern United States) that serves this, but I saw a chef make it on WYES-TV New Orleans' "Great Chefs of the West" series on public television, now shown on the Discovery Channel ... it looked great, so I took notes!The grapefruit juice, besides providing a tangy, exciting flavor, contains enzymes that help make for a wonderfully tender piece of chicken.
- 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons clarified butter, or olive oil
- 4 nopales (prickly cactus leaves), thorns removed
- 1 large red bell pepper
- salt and pepper
Marinade:
Mix all marinade ingredients thoroughly, and bury the chicken breasts within. Cover and refrigerate for two hours.
- the juice of 1 white grapefruit
- the juice of 1 orange
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 medium onion, quartered and thinly sliced
- 1 - 2 jalapeno or serrano chiles, seeded and julienned (leave the seeds in for extra heat)
- 1 yellow chile, seeded and julienned
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper, julienned
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tablespoons cilantro, coarsely chopped
Add 2 tablespoons of the clarified butter to a large saute pan, and add the chicken breasts and the rest of the marinade. Brown for 2 minutes on each side, then add the cream. Stir thoroughly to combine. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until the cream reduces by one-third to one-half. Season with salt and pepper.
Julienne the nopales to about 1/4-inch slices, resembling green beans. Julienne the red pepper, and saute them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of clarified butter until tender. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve one breast per person with sauce, and with 1/4 of the sauteed nopales and pepper on the side.
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[Go to The Gumbo Pages' Home Page]Chuck Taggart (e-mail chuck)