Monday, March 23, 2009

5 Meals in 5 Hours: Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce on Chicken or Pasta

Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream SauceThe last meal in this series of 5 in 5 is a delicious Sun-dried Tomato Sauce that I put on chicken, but it would be just as good on pasta. There is a wonderful little Italian restaurant in Ottawa called Zola's that inspired me to go hunting for a sun-dried tomato cream sauce recipe. After having their Sun-dried Tomato Mushroom Linguini for dinner one night, I wanted to re-create it at home. One of my favorite recipe sites, Epicurious had a promising recipe for what I was looking for. After a few tweaks, it was similar enough to what I had at Zola's.

I'm making 5 meals in 5 hours to avoid the "What's for dinner" question. I'll post one meal each day, in the order I made them. Here's the plan:

1. Savory Pot Roast
2. Shrimp Curry (or you could substitute chicken)
3. Chicken Stir-Fry (or you could substitute tofu)
4. Lavender and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
5. Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce on Chicken or Pasta

While the Lavender and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin is roasting, you can make the Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce for chicken or pasta.

Recipe

adapted from Epicurious

Serves 6

Ingredients for Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1½ pound total)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 yellow onion, finely diced
¼ cup drained sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil; ½ ounce), patted dry and coarsely chopped
¾ teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
¼ cup dry white wine
¾ cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1¾ cup heavy cream
¼ cup fresh basil, thinly sliced

To Prepare and Eat Now:
Dry the meat with a paper towel and season with salt and black pepper. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Brown chicken on all sides, about 6 minutes total. (Chicken will not be cooked through.) Set aside.

Add garlic, tomatoes, and red pepper flakes to pan and sauté, stirring, until garlic is pale golden, about 1 minute. Add wine and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up brown bits. Reduce this mixture by half, about 1 minute. Add chicken broth, mustard and soy sauce and bring to a boil, covered.

Add chicken to skillet with any juices accumulated on plate and simmer, covered, until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Set chicken aside and tent with foil. Purée sauce with either an immersion or stand blender until almost smooth. (Use caution when blending hot liquids in a stand blender.) If necessary, add water to thin to desired consistency. (Can be made ahead up to this point and frozen.)

Stir cream and 2 tablespoons basil into sauce in pan and bring just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve sauce over chicken and garnish with remaining 2 tablespoons basil.

To Freeze:
Freeze sauce (before adding cream) and chicken. Recommended freezing time: 4-6 months.

To Prepare After Freezing:
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Heat sauce and chicken. Add cream and 2 tablespoons basil to the sauce and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Serve sauce over chicken and garnish with remaining 2 tablespoons basil.

Tips:
To save time, use bottled minced garlic. To save money, mince your own garlic.

. . . . . . . . . .

Cost: $21.16 ($3.53 per serving)

. . . . . . . . . .

Other Ideas for Sun-dried Tomatoes
• Kalyn's Kitchen: Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
• Look and Taste: Making Home Made Sun-dried Tomatoes
• Smitten Kitchen: Sun-dried Tomato Stuffed Mushrooms

Summary of 5 Meals in 5 Hours
Here is a summary of what it cost me (in Canadian) to make these 5 meals:

• Savory Pot Roast: Cost: $11.29 ($1.13 per serving) 10 servings
• Shrimp Curry: Cost: $21.40 ($3.57 per serving) 6 servings
• Chicken Stir-Fry: Cost: $26.64 ($3.33 per serving) 8-10 servings
• Lavender and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin: Cost: $20.75 ($2.59 per serving) 8-10 servings
• Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce on Chicken: Cost: $21.16 ($3.53 per serving) 6 servings

Total: $101.24
Total servings: 38
Average cost per serving: $2.66

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  • 13 comments:

    Audrey said...

    ooh, I was waiting for this! And it was worth the wait, especially since it can be frozen. I'm finding that I need to cook a lot on weekends with at least one dish for the freezer. This looks wonderul.

    Sippity Sup said...

    I love the way that basil leaf seem to hover above the chicken. It is so tantalizing. Like a well placed feather boa on a stripper who knows which bits to keep secret!

    Anonymous said...

    Shari, I can't comment as well as Sippity Sup (isn't he fun), but this is my favorite of the five dishes, I think; although I enjoyed all of them. Well done. And, I like that you put the sauce on chicken, and not on pasta which is an obvious.

    Cora said...

    I've had a dish very similar to this one and I can't wait to try your recipe. Hope mine looks half as good as yours too!

    Anonymous said...

    I too have been waiting for Day Five to get this recipe. It sounds delicious. (I love the plate!)

    Elyse said...

    Wow, that's all I can say, Shari. Just wow! You've served so many amazingly wonderful dishes. And you must have known that tomatoes and cream is one of my favorite combinations! This dish looks superb. I have to make this!

    Anonymous said...

    I am incredulous at the low cost of these elegant dinners! To think that I can make 38 servings for just over $100?! I'm in!!!

    LeahLuv said...

    I've been making this sauce for over 2 years and it's AMAZING. Try making it without the mustard and add it to pasta!

    grace said...

    this is hands-down my favorite of your five meals. sun-dried tomatoes rock my world, and come on--it's a cream sauce! :)

    Anonymous said...

    soya sauce= soy sauce?

    Jamie said...

    Delicious! It looks really good! I love the taste of sun-dried tomatoes.

    test it comm said...

    That sundried tomato sauce sounds so good!

    Patricia @ ButterYum said...

    This looks utterly divine! Will try it tonight!