Pan-seared chicken with caramelized onions
I’ll be honest, this is a very non-recipe-recipe, but it’s also one of the reasons I enjoy making it. I’m a recipe gal at heart, but it feels good to cook based on what you know and want sometimes.
This is my mom’s recipe via her mom, though the original has mushrooms and onions atop the chicken. I used to HATE mushrooms in any setting so I’ve always eaten and made it without.
I like to serve this with simple roasted sweet potatoes in the fall, and this delightful kale salad paired really well too. I used the base salad from this NYT recipe and the dressing from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe. Definitely massage your kale even though the recipe doesn’t say to.
Caramelized Onion Chicken
Serves 2
2 chicken breasts, regular thickness
1 large onion, slides
Olive oil
Kosher salt + black pepper
How to make it
Heat 1-2 TBS olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, then let cook until caramelized for about 20-30 minutes
When the onions are done, remove them from the pan and transfer to a small plate. Keep these somewhere warm-ish, like your microwave
Pat the chicken breasts dry — this is critical to successful browning — and season generously with salt and pepper on both sides
Heat 1-2 TBS olive in the same nonstick skillet over medium high. When heated, add the chicken and let cook undisturbed for about 5 minutes, then flip and let the other side brown for about 5 minutes
If your chicken isn’t done after the browning, turn the heat down to medium low and cover the pan to let the chicken finish cooking
Serve with the caramelized onions on top of the pan-seared chicken and be surprised at how good something this simple really is
