I've had pork with apples before, but for this Zaar World Tour recipe, I tried chicken with apples. I'd never heard of doing that before!
This was a recipe for Eastern Europe. I'm not quite sure what makes this Eastern European, but it was delicious anyway. This would make an excellent weeknight meal in the winter. It's warming and comforting (may be where the Eastern European comes in with cold winters?) and it's very quick, only taking about ½ hour from start to finish!
I had Fuji apples leftover from doing the Daring Bakers Danish, so I used those in this recipe. They also hold their shape well when cooked, so I didn't have to worry about them getting mushy or looking more like apple sauce than apples.
I've said before how much I love vanilla beans now. I learned I love vanilla beans with apples. I think next time I try this, I'll see how it does with some vanilla bean and cinnamon. I'll let you know how it goes!
I'm posting the recipe how I made it. I kept the sauce the original measurement, because we love saucy things. I didn't peel the apples and it tasted great. If you'd rather peel, by all means do! You can make this look Christmasy by using 1 red apple and one Granny Smith. You can view the original at Recipezaar.
Chicken with Apples
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cooking apple
¼ cup butter, divided in half
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup apple juice
1 teaspoon thyme
- In a sauté pan, melt half the butter and pan fry the chicken breasts.
- While the chicken is cooking, peel (if you want), core, and slice the apple into 16 slices.
- When chicken is brown and done cooking, remove from pan and cover with aluminum foil. Set aside.
- In the same pan you used to cook the chicken, add the remaining butter, apples, and thyme.
- Cook apples until tender. If using a firm apple like Fuji, it will still retain its shape.
- Place apples on top of chicken, recover to keep warm, and return pan to heat.
- Deglaze the pan with the juice.
- Add the cream and cook until slightly thickened.
- Serve with the cream sauce poured over the chicken and apples. (I also put the chicken on top of a bed of rice and the sauce was delicious with that as well!!)
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