Sarasota's Chicken With Fennel & Olives

Submitted by HeatherFeather

"This is actually based on a suggestion made by another Recipezaar member, SarasotaCook. I had made a request for ideas to use up some ingredients in my freezer and pantry, and she kindly described how she likes to prepare chicken using the ingredients I had on hand. I took her idea and this is what I came up with. Sarasota told me to go ahead and post the recipe, so here is how I prepared it. I used Muir Glen organic for the diced tomatoes. Note: I removed the skin after cooking and served the meat sliced off the bone; the nutritional facts are assuming you ate all of the marinade, didn't spoon out the fat, and ate the skin. My chicken breasts were huge and had enough meat to feed 3 servings. If you prefer to leave the meat on the bone, you will have 2 larger portions."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 18
• Serves: 3

ingredients

• for the marinade

• 1⁄2 lemon, cut into wedges
• sea salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, approximately

• remaining ingredients

• 2 bone-in chicken breast halves
• 1 -2 teaspoon unsalted butter, approximately
• 1 -2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, approximately
• 1 cup white wine (I used White Zinfandel, 1 mini sized bottle)
• 1 small head fennel, bulb end only, very thinly sliced
• 1⁄2 large red onion, very thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• sea salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 (15 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth (or more)
• 1 -2 tablespoon capers, drained
• 1 cup mixed olive, roughly chopped (the kind from the deli counter)

directions

1. Season chicken with salt & pepper, pop into a zip-top bag and add a little olive oil; Squeeze the lemon wedges over the chicken, and then drop the rinds into the bag; Mix well, seal the bag, and let marinate overnight in the fridge.
2. Heat a skillet(I used cast iron) over medium-high heat.
3. Add a small amount of butter and oil and allow to heat.
4. Add the chicken and brown on both sides; Remove chicken to a plate to keep warm.
5. Remove some of excess oil from the pan, leaving behind some of the pan juices and any browned bits, then splash in the wine and let it deglaze the pan for a couple of minutes (it should be bubbling).
6. Next, add the fennel, onion slivers, and the garlic, stirring to coat with the pan juices; Allow to cook, lowering the heat slightly if needed, until the veggies are softened and have absorbed most of the liquid, about 5 minutes.
7. Add the tomatoes, juice and all, the chicken broth, capers, and olives, and season to taste, if needed.
8. Add the chicken back to the pan and allow to cook uncovered until the chicken is fully cooked (I let it cook 15 minutes, then popped it into a preheated 350F oven for another 10 minutes to finish up).
9. Serve over couscous or rice as desired.
10. I also de-boned my chicken after cooking and served it sliced on top of the veggies and the couscous.
11. You may use boneless breasts, they will just cook a lot faster.