When I looked at the food holidays for last week, I discovered an abundance of sweet treats and not much that inspired a familiar recipe. Playing around with different ingredients eventually led me to papaya. A quick search on Cooks.com finally led me to a recipe for a Baked Chicken with Papaya. The honey-lime dressing, and raspberries on top, had me drooling instantly.
Some recipes require very little thought and little discovery. This was not such a case. I wandered into the grocery store thinking I knew what I was looking for, but found myself staring at exotic fruit before finally asking a produce employee to confirm that what I was holding was indeed a papaya.
The other element was that the recipe calls for boneless chicken breasts with skin. I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts all the time, but this requirement threw me. I regret to say I spent way too much time taking ribs out of chicken breasts with the skin on. In the end, I don’t think the skin made much difference at all and I’d suggest going the easy route with boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
The dish turned out to be quite yummy and certainly one to add to my files!
Baked Chicken with Papaya
6 boneless chicken breasts, cut in halves
1/2 c. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 papaya, peeled & seeded
3/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
7 tbsp. butter
Raspberries
3/4 c. honey
1 tbsp. oil (sesame or walnut optional)
Fresh rosemary (optional)
Fresh parsley (optional)
Combine honey, lime juice, 6 tablespoons butter and nutmeg in saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring occasionally to blend.
Dice 3/4 of papaya and slice remaining into thin wedges. Heat remaining tablespoon butter and oil in skillet. Sear chicken breasts, skin side down, until golden brown.
Place in large baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cover with honey glaze and diced papaya. Continue baking until chicken is tender (adding rosemary), about 10 minutes longer. Serve hot with glaze and diced papaya. Garnish with sliced papaya and raspberries (and parsley).
Serves 6.
