Baked Chicken & Shallots

We were at dinner with my best friend from High School last weekend and she asked, “What is your favorite dish to make?” and I couldn’t come up with an answer on the spot. I love trying new recipes, but I do have my favorites. Baked Chicken & Shallots is just such a recipe!

Chicken & Shallots is a recipe I created last year while my fiancé and I were working in Cleveland, OH. I don’t claim to have invented the magical combination of chicken and shallots: This is a pairing that has been delighting taste buds for centuries. (This is a completely unverified fact. I actually have no idea.) It’s just a dish I threw together because I really didn’t want to go to the store. I hate grocery shopping. Fun (verified) fact.

I have since become obsessed with shallots. I started using them in place of onions in other dishes, because they have this unique flavor that I find irresistible. But please, please, please don’t substitute onions for shallots in this recipe. You will find it lacking. Trust me.

Lindsey’s Chicken & Shallots

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

4-6 shallots, chopped (more is more, or at least I think so!)

4 T butter

1 cup dry white wine

Pinch of salt (or more to taste)

¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper (or more to taste)

Preheat oven to 400°.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in an oven safe pan with a lid.  Brown chicken over medium heat, remove from pan.

Melt remaining butter in pan, add shallots and cook over medium heat until they brown and turn translucent. Try not to pester them while they cook.

Keep cooking!

Deglaze pan with wine. Add the salt and pepper. Bring wine and shallots to a boil. Scrape the pan to get all the browned chicken bits off the bottom. Yum! Add the chicken back to the pan and spoon sauce over chicken.

Cover and bake in preheated oven until meat thermometer inserted into the largest part of the breast reads 165°. Approximately 10-20 minutes. Let the breasts rest at least 5 minutes.

I suggest serving this delightful dish with a side of mashed potatoes to soak up the sauce. You will want ever last drop!