Cilantro-Apple Chutney Chicken

This is a quick skillet dinner with a bright, fresh finish: chicken browned with onion, garlic, and ginger, then tossed in a green chutney of cilantro and tart apple. The chutney is what makes it sing, and it comes together in a blender while the chicken cooks, a reminder that this way of eating can taste like something you look forward to.

Cilantro brings polyphenols and a clean, herbaceous lift, and the Granny Smith apple adds a tart brightness along with a little vitamin C, kept modest since it is the fruit doing the sweetening. The chicken is sustaining protein for a body that is rebuilding, and the ginger and garlic are the warming aromatics that carry the dish. It is simple food, made with care.

An animal was raised for this chicken, so source it well and cook it with attention. The chutney asks you to slow down for a few minutes and tend something fresh, which is its own small reverence. Before you eat, take a breath and look at the plate: the green of the chutney over the golden chicken. The presence you bring to the table is part of how the food serves you.

Ingredients

Chicken:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 medium red onions, sliced
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1.3 lb), cubed
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic paste
• 1/2 tablespoon ginger paste

Simple cilantro-apple chutney (ARM build):

• 1 large bunch cilantro, leaves and tender stems
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• Sea salt, to taste
• A little water or olive oil, to blend

Method

First make the chutney so it is ready when the chicken is. Combine the cilantro, chopped apple, garlic, onion, and a pinch of salt in a blender or food processor. Blend to a coarse paste, adding a little water or olive oil as needed to bring it together. Taste and adjust the salt. Set it aside.

Warm the olive oil and coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced red onions and cook for about 10 minutes, until soft and lightly golden. Add the cubed chicken in two batches so the pan is not crowded, browning each batch about 5 minutes. With all the chicken back in the pan, stir in the salt, garlic paste, and ginger paste, and cook for about 5 minutes. Let any liquid in the pan cook off, then add the chutney and toss to coat the chicken. Cook about 4 minutes more, until the chutney clings and is heated through. Keep the added salt low, since the chutney is already salted.

For a one-pot version, cook this in a pot instead of a skillet: add a little extra oil, and after the chicken browns, stir in finely diced carrot and chayote (or cucumber), raise the salt slightly, cover, and cook 5 to 7 minutes until tender before adding the chutney.

*Adapted from asquirrelinthekitchen.com*