Chicken in a spicy tomato sauce is a dish that is a family pleaser. The salad is made with fennel. It has a large, pale green bulbous base with darker green stems and bright green feathery leaves. It's sometimes labeled anise in the market. Both the base and stems can be eaten raw or cooked. It has a very mild, sweet, licorice flavor. The fennel is very thinly sliced for this salad. Use a mandolin or the thin slicing blade on the food processor. It will take only a few minutes. Or, slice the fennel by hand.
Helpful Hints:
_ Celery can be substituted for fennel.
_ The quickest way to chop the fennel leaves is to snip them with a scissors.
_ Use a skillet just large enough to hold chicken in one layer. If the skillet is too large, the sauce will run dry.
Countdown:
_ Prepare ingredients.
Start chicken.
_ Make salad.
_ Finish chicken.
Shopping List:
To buy: } pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, 1 can /bottle low-sodium pasta sauce(ASTERISK), 1 container pitted, black olives,1 can cannellini or white navy beans, 1 fennel bulb.
Staples: olive oil spray, minced garlic, reduced-fat Italian salad (oil and vinegar, not creamy) dressing(ASTERISK)(ASTERISK), hot pepper sauce, salt, black peppercorns.
