Week 60: Curried Chicken Breasts with Quinoa

A few notes:

-Abby and I don't have experience with curry, so we didn't really know what it was SUPPOSED to taste like. Since we didn't have strong expectations, we thought it was pretty good. To the curry connoisseur, this dish would probably result in extreme disappointment. We blame the quality of the curry and/or we might have burnt the curry. This is reflected in the rating.

This is what it was supposed to look like (notice the beautiful yellow color):

This is what it DID look like:

-The recipe mentioned that curry doesn't have have a long shelf life, so it's important to buy it someplace where there is a decent turnover. We got ours at a regular grocery store, and decided that if we bought it again it would probably be at a specialty spice store or at the Indian grocer down the street from where I live.

-The original recipe called for Basmati rice, but we chose to use quinoa instead. We cooked the quinoa according to the passage, using half chicken broth and half water for the liquid, and then we mixed the parsley in after it was cooked.

-The recipe asks for a cup of coconut milk, and we ended up using the whole can, which was closer to two cups.

-We served this dish with naan, which is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. Naan is commonly found served with South Asian cuisine.

Year of Yum Rating: 3 STARS

INGREDIENTS
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus salt to taste
2 cups quinoa
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
freshly ground pepper
1 yellow onion, diced
3 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup coconut milk (we used almost two)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (I'm pretty sure we used a lot more than that)

DIRECTIONS
Remove any excess fat from the chicken breasts. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Slice crosswise into strips 1 inch wide. Place in a bowl, add 2 tablespoons lime juice, and toss to coat. Set aside for about 15 minutes.

While the chicken is chilling, go ahead and start the quinoa.

In a large saute pan or frying pan (we used an iron skillet), warm the butter and olive oil. When hot, add the chicken, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute until golden, 2-3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate.

Pour off most of the fat and place the pan over low heat. Add the onion and saute for 1 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and saute for 2 minutes longer. Stir in the chicken stock, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom. Cover and simmer over low heat for 5-6 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and continue to cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 1-2 minutes.

Stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Return the chicken to the pan, stir to coat well, and heat through. Adjust the seasoning with more lime juice or salt and pepper.

Toss the rice with the parsley. Arrange the quinoa in a ring around the edge of a warmed platter. Spoon the chicken and sauce into the center and serve.