I usually do not like the combination of meat and fruit together, but I broke my own rule for this as it didn’t seem as if it would be too sweet. I was proved right. The recipe was very simple to cook and absolutely delicious. The chicken was beautifully tender in a buttery orangey sauce with the hint of mint giving an unusual twist. It would be a perfect summer entertaining dish, provided you did not want to make it ahead of time. If you are not over generous on the butter for the sauce it will not be too high in calories, although you do need to use a reasonable amount as the flavour would not be the same without it. The original recipe specified ‘two large knobs’ of butter, so I guess it is up to the cook to decide just how much that is! Do remember to zest the orange (you may need two) before squeezing. If you warm the fruit slightly before squeezing it will yield more juice – I always use a microwave oven to do this. If you do not have fresh mint then wait until you can get some. The recipe just would not be the same with dried mint. The addition of the olive oil helps to stop the butter from burning – this and the orange zest are additions I have made to the original recipe.
This recipe was first published by food writer Keith Floyd in his book Floyd on Spain, which accompanied the television series of the same name.
Chicken with Orange & Mint
(Pollo con Naranja y Mento)
(Serves 4)
4 skinned boneless chicken breasts (4-6ozs/125-175g each)
Salt & black pepper
2 knobs butter (I used about 1oz/125g in all)
1tbsp olive oil
zest of 1 orange
150ml/5fl ozs freshly squeezed orange juice
2tbsp chopped fresh mint
Sprigs of mint & orange slices or some reserved zest for garnish
1. Rub the chicken breasts with the salt and pepper to season them.
2. Melt about half of the butter in a frying pan with the olive oil and gently saute the chicken pieces for 4-5minutes, turning once, until they are light gold.
3. Pour in the orange zest and juice and when it is simmering cover and cook for about 8-10minutes. When almost cooked stir in the chopped mint. At the same time add the remaining butter which will enrich and help thicken the sauce. Be careful that the chicken does not overcook. It can quickly change from soft and moist to being dried out.
4. Serve with saute potatoes, or simple boiled minted new potatoes and a green vegetable or salad.
[…] from a recipe by Keith Floyd, a version closer to the original is here at this blog post. He goes for frying the whole chicken breasts, but I prefer cutting them into strips which exposes […]