What's For Dinner Wednesday: Chicken in Spicy Tomato White Wine Sauce

As much as I love to experiment in the kitchen, sometimes it is really hard to keep that creative momentum up during busy weeknights. This recipe was born out of ingredients that I had on hand on a busy weeknight when I was just really sleepy and not in the mood to make anything elaborate. Well, it turned out to be really tasty! If you've got a can of tomatoes and a little white wine (and if you're like me, you usually have both in your kitchen), then you can make this simple sauce.

Chicken breasts are sauteed and then nestled in a simple pan sauce of tomatoes, shallots, garlic, and white wine. It's a very basic combination, but one that works so nicely together. The sauce is light, but flavorful and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes adds some great heat to a somewhat sweet sauce. It's such a great combination! You could totally serve this as a meatless dish with some simple grilled or sauteed vegetables. It would also be great with shrimp instead of chicken too.


Ingredients:

• 1/2 Tbs. Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 Tbs. butter
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 (28-oz.) can of crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• Cooked pasta, for serving

Heat oil and butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Swirl to coat.

Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Cook chicken until browned on both sides, about 5-6 minutes per side. Remove from pan and transfer to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium and add shallots to the pan. Saute for another 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently until shallots are soft, but not brown. Add garlic and saute for 1 more minute, stirring constantly.

Carefully pour wine into the pan and scrape up any brown bits from the chicken. Simmer the wine until it has reduced by about half, about 6-8 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Add chicken breasts back to the pan and submerge in sauce. Cover pan and cook for 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through and tender and sauce is thickened.

Serve over cooked pasta.


Looking for another chicken and pasta dinner? Try Top Chef Chicken Rigatoni or Chicken in Red Wine Sauce.