Chicken Breasts With Tomatoes and Capers

By Pierre Franey

Published December 15, 2015

  • Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(5,130)
Comments
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This recipe was originally developed by Pierre Franey in 1991 for the 60-Minute Gourmet column, a weekly feature dedicated to Times-worthy dishes that were easy, quick and inexpensive. This recipe fit the bill perfectly, and it still does. Just sauté the chicken breasts until they are lightly browned. Then add shallots and garlic, tarragon, tomatoes, vinegar, capers, white wine and tomato paste. Stir well and cook for about 9 minutes more. That's it.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 ¼ pounds)

  • Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • 6 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic

  • 4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon, or 2 teaspoons dried tarragon

  • 8 ripe plum tomatoes cut into small cubes (or one 28-ounce can of tomatoes, drained and chopped)

  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar

  • ¼ cup drained capers

  • 1 cup dry white wine

  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste

  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

15 grams carbs; 202 milligrams cholesterol; 530 calories; 8 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 20 grams fat; 4 grams fiber; 1185 milligrams sodium; 60 grams protein; 6 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and butter in a heavy-bottom skillet. Add the chicken breasts and saute over medium-high heat, turning the pieces often until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Add the shallots and garlic around the chicken. Cook briefly; add the tarragon, tomatoes, vinegar, capers, wine and tomato paste. Stir to dissolve the brown particles adhering to the bottom of the skillet.

  3. Step 3

    Blend well, bring to a boil, and then cover and simmer for 9 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
5,130 user ratings
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Comments

Tom Hu

I've made this dish a few times now. First time I made it with fresh tomatoes and left out the tomato paste because I didn't have any, it was fantastic. Last time I added the tomato paste and didn't like it as much, the sauce was too acidic with an almost metallic taste.

Fresh or canned tomatoes will create a lot of juice, so, I took the chicken breasts out of the pan after browning, made the sauce, simmered until thickened, then added the chicken breasts back to pan to finish.

Tom Who

I love that NYT Cooking is resurrecting old classic recipes. 60 Minute Gourmet was one of my first cookbooks when I moved to NYC. Made this after having forgotten about it for years.

Some changes I made while making this dish: After browning the chicken breasts I removed them from the pan and set aside, made the sauce and cooked down for a bit to thicken, then added the chicken breasts back to sauce to finish. Chicken stayed juicy. Also added some black olives. Just delicious!

Ed Hawco

I'm puzzled too. You can tell from the ingredients that this isn't a standard "red sauce." Capers, a lot of vinegar, wine, etc. It's intended to be sour! I simmered it longer to let the sauce thicken up a bit. It's a braise, so the chicken didn't dry out. I had planned to serve it with pasta, but after I tasted it I ruled that out (sour thin sauces aren't the best for pasta). So I quickly boiled some mini potatoes (potatoes love vinegar!) and they went really well together.

PB

Made the 0.5 serving with 2 chicken breasts, halved. Forgot the tomato paste, added half a sweet red pepper to use up, used a white wine stock cube. Really easy and enjoyable with baby potatoes and basil.

Dave G

5 star rating for taste appeal to a crowd and ease of making, Have used both Capers and alternatively chopped Manzanilla green olives. Instead of using tomato paste, reduce sauce from a 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes to paste. This recipe seems to need about a 14" pan to cook chicken which I don't have so it forces me to cook chicken in 2 pans, pull out all chicken into a separate container, make sauce, and then return chicken to my biggest pan with the sauce to simmer another 10 minutes.

Jean

*personal notes* 600g chicken breasts (3 big ones) - puzzled as to how 4 breasts would make 2.25 lb! 14oz can of chopped tomatoes, undrained - made plenty of sauce but i did have to take the cooked chicken out and simmer it down. also took awhile to mellow out the white wine flavor. added kalamata olives as a treat. couldn’t get fresh tarragon, used dried, couldn’t really taste it. maybe next time i’ll add that in with the shallot and garlic to bloom the flavor more.

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