Chicken Breast with Orange, Olives, and New Potatoes

You know what I love? I love recipes that start on the stove and finish in the oven. It's really perfect. You get the control of the high heat of a burner to do your browning in and then you get the soft heat of an oven to finish off the cooking. So, when I saw this recipe in Tyler Florence: Stirring the Potthat..one, had only 7 ingredients and two..called for the whole stovetop to oven thing, I was hooked.

Once again, Tyler has come through with a wonderfully tasty and oh-so-easy dinner. As an extra plus this is really pretty and it looks like it was more work than it is. I did note that next time I might brown the potatoes a little longer and maybe let it stay in the oven about an extra 5 more minutes, just to get the oranges a little softer. But the chicken was cooked perfectly, so moist, with a hint of orange from the slices.

Also, the recipe called for chicken breast halves with skin on. He didn't say boneless, but I assumed that they were. It is hard for me to find boneless chicken breasts with the skin on, so I bought split breasts and boned them. If you've ever boned chicken breasts, you know they kind of separate leaving the breast and then the tender. I sometimes take the tender off the bone and save them frozen until I have enough for chicken strips and freeze the bones for soup/stock or I just leave them still attached to the bone and store the bones with meat in the freezer and use them in chicken soups. Consider that your free thrifty tip of the day.

Chicken Breast with Orange, Olives and New Potatoes
Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:
extra virgin olive oil
2 large chicken breast halves, skin on
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 new potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 cup black olives, pitted
1/2 orange, sliced
fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large ovenproof saute pan heat a 3-count of olive oil (3tbsps.) over medium heat. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper; add them to the pan; skin sides down. Cook for 10 minutes until the skin is golden brown, then turn breasts over and add potatoes, olives, and orange slices. Cook for 5 minutes more, until the potatoes begin to brown. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer pan to oven and bake for 12 -15 minutes, until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear (180F). Garnish with fresh parsley leaves.


This will be my entry for this week's Tyler Florence Fridays. Join us. You know you want to.