Red Wine & Pomegranate Braised Chicken
By: Fun Fearless Foodie
Published: Wednesday, December 2, 2009 - 11:02am

Ingredients




2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Flour for coating chicken
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon cooking oil (prefer canola)
1/2 cup red wine (pinot noir works best)
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic

Preparation

1 Salt chicken breasts and bring to room temperature for 15 minutes. 2 Heat butter and oil in a skillet over medium heat. 3 When the butter starts to sizzle, but not burn, add the onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. 4 Dredge the chicken in flour and place in the skillet. 5 Saute the chicken about 4 minutes on each side until it starts to develop a nice brown crust. 6 Add the garlic and pour in the wine and pomegranate juice.  Let the liquid come to a quick boil and lower heat to medium low and cover. 7 Cook the chicken for another 10 minutes (if you have thick breasts I recommend pounding them down a bit first). 8 During cooking, flip the breast at least one time and spoon over the braising liquid. 9 When the chicken is cooked through, remove from the pan and place on warming rack or pop in the microwave and close the door. 10 Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce until it develops a think and syrupy texture.  When the mixture looks finished, taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.  Spoon reduction over the chicken breast and enjoy!

About


I had some left over Pinot Noir in the fridge from the holidays and the thought of combining it with pomegranate juice sounded really yummy so the idea for Red Wine & Pomegranate Braised Chicken was born.  This was an experimental dish, the boyfriend is out of town and if it came out awful at least I wouldn't ruin the evening for him, so I was feeling adventurous.  Braising is an easy way to prepare chicken as it soaks in whatever liquid and flavors you cook it in and can all be done in one skillet.  Verdict: delicious!  The red wine and pomegranate reduction that tops the chicken was so good that I literally ate every last drop out of the pan!  Plus, the chicken was cooked perfectly and stayed nice and moist.  I served this with a green salad and a pomegranate vinaigrette I made adding EVOO and balsamic vinegar.