[CH] Pineapple Chile Chicken
Mary & Riley McIntire (uGuys@ChileGarden.com)
Sun, 02 Apr 2000 15:48:14 -0700
Hi all,
We've picked up some nice recipes here and thought some of you might
like this in return. Mary and I really enjoyed it.
One question, though. While cooking the chicken we ran out of time and
put it away until the next day. Then I sautéed some mushrooms and
pineapple and added the chicken mix. My question is should the
pineapple be cooked separately and then added? The pineapple flavors
really complimented the rest--does cooking it
separately do this? One way to find out of course, but any suggestions
or comments would be nice.
Thanks,
Riley
This is a reduced fat pesto with fettuccine and chicken sautéed with
chiles and pineapple. Serves 2, but double the chicken and pasta for 4.
There's enough pesto for about 5-6. Spices are approximate. Hopefully
I haven't forgotten anything! We estimate about 24 gm fat for the
entire dish (for 2), so about 12 gm each.
The pesto sauce really makes it. A slight variation on a recipe by Sam
Gugino, who has an excellent mailing list on food, wine and cooking.
The subscription info is below.
1/2 package Spinosi fettuccine (Got this from FlyingNoodle.com, but any
good fettuccine.)
1/2 c Sam's Oil-less pesto sauce (see below)
Pineapple Chile Chicken (see below)
Cook the fettuccine al dente, drain and add to warm serving dish. Add
the pesto sauce and mix. Serve with Pineapple Chile Chicken either over
or on the side. Garnish with grated Pecorino Romano. We found a mix,
chopped salad (Mary's specialty) went great with this, and ended up
mixing everything together for the second helping!
Pineapple Chile Chicken
Salt to taste
1+ tsp fresh ground pepper
~1 1/2 tsp cumin seed, crushed
Pam spray oil
2 tsp coriander, crushed
1 tsp dry Mexican oregano
Calvin's Chile Powder if you have it!
~1 c 1996 Lyeth Meritage wine (or any decent dry white table wine-this
is a Semillon/Sauvignon blend)
2 Portobello mushrooms, small stuffing size (about 3" diameter), halved
1/4" slices
1/2 - 2/3 c fresh pineapple, bite size chunks
1 pasilla chile, cleaned and diced, roasted, skin removed
2 yellow chile, cleaned and diced
1 manzano, cleaned and diced
2 jalapeños, cleaned and diced
1 habenero, cleaned and diced
1 chicken breast, boned, skinless, trim most of the fat, cut into 1/4"
thick strips
Toast the coriander, and cumin in a non-stick frying pan, add the
oregano a bit later, until aromatic.
Sprinkle lightly with Calvin's chile powder if you have it. Over medium
heat add the chicken strips, ground pepper, and spray lightly with Pam.
Add some salt. Stir, cover and simmer until chicken is opaque. Stir
occasionally. Add the chiles. Stir, add about 3/4 c wine and simmer.
Add more wine so there's always some liquid. Adjust spices if
necessary.
Now, I ran out of time here and put everything in the refrigerator...
So, the next day, add the mushrooms to a skillet on medium heat, spray
lightly with Pam and sauté until soft. Add the pineapple and cook until
it starts to clear. Add the chile chicken mix, stir occasionally until
hot.
Cook the pasta at this time and grate some Romano.
Sam's OIL-LESS PESTO
[modifications are in brackets]
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts [I used 1/3 c]
[Not quite oil-less, with about 1+ tsp extra virgin olive oil]
3 cups basil leaves
2 cups spinach leaves
[2 cups cilantro]
8 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese [substitute 1/3 c Pecorino Romano
instead]
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 to 4 tablespoons mineral water
Salt to taste
Put nuts, basil, spinach, garlic, cheese, lemon juice and pepper in a
food processor. Puree. [Add the olive oil.] Gradually add mineral water
until desired consistency is achieved. Salt to taste.
Serve with pasta, grilled fish or chicken. Makes about 1 cup.
Per serving (about 1/4 cup); 99 calories, 7 grams fat. [This is for the
original, but made as above it's about 1 1/2 c pesto, so the cal & fat
should be about the same.)
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