Chicken Veracruz

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 4 Foster Farms boneless skinless chicken breast fillets
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups onion, finely diced
• 1 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 cup green bell pepper, finely diced
• 3/4 serrano pepper, thinly sliced crosswise, divided
• 1/2 cup garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups stewed tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup clam juice
• 1 cup water
• 6 ounces tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced
• 2 tablespoons capers, packed in brine, drained
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 avocado, cut into quarters and sliced, fan method
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Heat an ovenproof skillet over high heat until it begins to smoke. Add the olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Sear the chicken for 4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
3. In the same pan, sauté the onion, bell peppers and 1/2 the sliced serrano over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 2 more minutes. Add stewed tomatoes, clam juice, water, tomato sauce and chicken.
4. Place skillet with chicken mixture into the preheated oven and cook until the internal temperature of the center of the thickest piece of chicken reaches 165 degrees F, about 30 minutes. Always use a meat thermometer to determine the temperature.
5. After it is fully cooked, take chicken out of pan and set aside in clean dish.
6. Transfer skillet to stovetop over medium high heat, and cook until sauce is reduced by about 1/3. Add olives, capers, and salt and pepper to taste. Return the chicken to the skillet and remove from heat.
7. Divide into 4 servings, and drizzle each serving with some lime juice, an avocado fan and one or two of the remaining serrano slices. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Attribution

Recipe and photo used with permission from: Foster Farms