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Prep and Cook time:
35 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
This elegant yet easy pear and apple salad, when savored along with a slightly sweet Riesling, will quickly become a regular in your fall repertoire. Pick up a loaf of Artisan Focaccia and a package of molasses cookies to finish off the meal.
Ingredients
1/2 cup hazelnuts, unskinned
4 boned, skinned chicken breast halves (5 to 6 oz. each)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 firm-ripe Comice or Bosc pears (about 1 lb. total)
2 apples (about 1 lb. total), see Notes
2 tablespoons Sweet Cream Butter or margarine
2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/3 cups Rice Vinegar
1 cup Orange Juice
8 cups baby lettuce mix (about 1/2 lb.)
2 ounces Danish Blue Cheese
Instructions
1. Place hazelnuts in an 8- to 9-inch baking pan and bake in a 350°
oven until golden beneath skins, 12 to 15 minutes. Pour from pan onto a
clean towel. When cool enough to handle, rub nuts in towel to loosen
skins. Lift nuts from towel and coarsely chop; discard skins.
2. While nuts bake, rinse chicken and pat dry. Place chicken between
sheets of plastic wrap and pound gently with a mallet until about 1/2 inch
thick. Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12- to
14-inch nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add chicken
and turn occasionally until pieces are lightly browned and no longer pink
in center (cut to test), about 6 minutes total. Transfer to a plate; cover
with foil to keep warm.
3. While chicken cooks, rinse, peel, and core pears and apples. Cut each
lengthwise into 8 wedges. After removing chicken, add butter and brown
sugar to frying pan. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves,
about 1 minute. Add fruit and stir often until fruit begins to brown, 2 to
3 minutes. Stir in vinegar and orange juice. Bring to a boil; boil over
high heat, stirring often, until fruit is tender when pierced and liquid
is slightly thickened, about 8 minutes.
4. Divide salad greens equally between 4 dinner plates and set a chicken
breast half on each mound. Spoon hot fruit and liquid over chicken and
greens. Sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts and blue cheese. Add more salt and
pepper to taste.
Nutritional Information
Per serving: 533 cal., 37% (198 cal.) from fat; 39 g protein; 22 g fat (6 g sat.); 48 g carbo (6.3 g fiber); 330 mg sodium; 101 mg chol.
