Chicken Provençale – Sautéed Chicken Breast with Tomatoes, Olives, & Anchovies
Tomatoes, olives, and anchovies – what a classic combination of the sunny Mediterranean. In this recipe, these flavors create a delicious pan sauce for sautéed chicken breast. Making a pan sauce is very easy. When the chicken browns, it sticks to the pan and little bits of flavor get stuck to the pan. These are called brown bits, or “fond” in French. We deglaze the pan by adding white wine and stirring up these bits of flavor, then adding the other sauce components once the wine has reduced.
This is a simple, base recipe that could be modified in many ways. Try different types of olives (I used gaetas), add some capers, sun-dried tomatoes, a little preserved lemon, different herbs, etc.
Heat & Knives
The Recipe
Source: The New Professional Chef, by the CIA. (I cut the quantities by half)
5 chicken suprêmes [(a suprême is a breast with one joint of the wing still attached, and the skin on. Boneless skinless breasts are fine for this recipe.)]
salt and black pepper, to taste
flour, as needed
vegetable oil, as needed
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp garlic, minced
5 oz white wine
1 (28-ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes, sent through food mill to remove seeds
1/3 cup black olives, sliced or julienne
1 1/2 anchovy fillets, mashed to a paste
1 tbsp basil, chiffonade
Season the chicken suprêmes with salt and pepper. Dredge them lightly with the flour, shaking off the excess.
Heat the vegetable oil in a suaté pan and sauté the chicken breasts until golden brown and cooked through. Remove the breasts from the pan and keep warm.
Pour off the excess fat from the sauté pan; add the butter. Return the pan to the heat. Add the garlic to the melted butter and sauté it briefly.
Deglaze the pan with the wine, stirring well to release all of the drippings. Add the tomatoes, olives, and anchovy paste. Bring this mixture to a simmer and cook it for a few minutes or until the flavor is developed.
Return the chicken breasts along with any released juices to the sauté pan and toss to coat the chicken with the sauce.
Serve the chicken with the sauce on a heated plate. Garnish with the basil.
Brown the chicken
Add wine, deglaze, and reduce
Once the wine has reduced, add the other sauce ingredients
When the sauce is a good consistency and you've adjusted the seasoning, return the chicken to toss around the sauce
