Chicken Cutlets on Spaghettini with Toasted Pine Nuts and Raisins

Lyn found this in the Boston Globe the only change we would make is add sundried tomatoes and add when the raisins are added.

The key to a romantic dinner at home is to keep it simple. Something quick can be just as impressive and elegant as a restaurant meal. For this dish, take thinly sliced chicken breasts and serve them with a white wine sauce made with pine nuts and raisins. If you can’t find ready-sliced skinless, boneless chicken cutlets, ring the butcher’s bell and ask the butcher to slice some or slice your own at home; one pound of chicken yields about four cutlets. Coat the chicken cutlets lightly with seasoned flour and pan-fry them. Take them out of the pan and start the sauce. Toast pine nuts first with a touch of garlic (hey, if you’re both eating it at the same time, nothing to worry about). Add raisins, rosemary, and white wine, simmer the sauce, reheat the chicken in it, and swirl in butter off the heat. Serve the cutlets on spaghettini; you can boil it while you cook the chicken. You’ve got the rest of the bottle of wine that didn’t go into the pot, a nice dish, and a quiet table away from the craze of a crowded restaurant.

Ingredients

½ cup flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
1-pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons raisins
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons butter, cut up
¼ pound spaghettini (This is #3 spaghetti)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

How

1. In a shallow bowl, mix the flour with salt and pepper. Dredge each cutlet in the flour and shake lightly to remove the excess.

2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the chicken and cook for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until golden. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

3. Add the pine nuts to the pan, and toast for 3 minutes, or until they are aromatic and just beginning to brown. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.

4. Add the raisins, rosemary, and wine. Bring to a simmer and return the chicken to the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the butter. Swirl the pan gently until the butter is incorporated.

5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghettini and cook, stirring occasionally, for 9 to 10 minutes, or until it is tender but still has some bite. Drain without rinsing and divide between two plates. Spoon chicken cutlets and sauce on each and sprinkle with parsley.