This recipe was modified from a spiced chicken recipe which appeared in the New York Times. I added pineapple to the recipe and improved it.
Spiced Chicken: Serves 4
Put the oven rack in the middle of the oven, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Use a large bowl for the chicken and a oven proof pan for cooking the chicken and a skillet for browning the chicken on the stove. I use a cast iron skillet which can do both.
6 Skinless chicken breasts
1 Pineapple
In one large bowl prepare:
- 4 teaspoons of Chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground Coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground Pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground Cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
Add 1 Tablespoon of high heat vegetable oil (I use canola oil) and mix in the spices. The spices should all be wet, like the consistancy of toothpaste, add more oil if needed. Add the chicken to the bowl and rub this mixture over all the chicken breasts. Remember to wash your hands well after dealing with raw chicken and separate anything used to cook the chicken, don’t reuse any tongs used for raw chicken on cooked chicken.
Cut up the pineapple into bite sized pieces. Here’s how I do it: Slice off the top and bottom of the pineapple, cut the peel off the remaining pineapple, then quarter it. Slice the core off of the 1/4, then cut the quarter into 2 or 3 parts lengthwise, then slice these parts into 1/3 inch chunks, place all the pineapple in the bowl.
Add 1-3 Tablespoon of oil to an ovenproof skillet and heat on moderately high temperature; brown 6 pieces of chicken for 3 minutes on each side.
When finished browning, turn off the stove and insert an oven thermometer into the largest piece of chicken. After the thermometer is inserted, pour the pineapple over the top of the chicken. Insert the chicken into the oven. Cook to 165 degrees and remember to set the alarm on the thermometer.
If you don’t have a thermometer Cook for 15-20 minutes until the juices come out clear, or cut the largest breast in the middle and see if its cooked all the way through.
I generally slice each chicken breast in half. Serve with pineapple and some pan juice. I often make this with 3 chicken breasts in which case I use only 1/2 the fresh pineapple, and I cut the spices in half. Enjoy.
I generally slice each chicken breast in half. Serve with pineapple and some pan juice.
