Chicken with California Endive, Red Onions, Radicchio and Sweet Balsamic Glaze

Contributor: Joanne Weir, Weir Cooking

Joanne Weir is a world traveler, a James Beard Award-winning cookbook author, a culinary teacher, a chef, and a television personality. Joanne grew up in the Boston area, and her passion for all things culinary was a family legacy - her great-grandmother had operated a restaurant in Boston at the turn of the century called Pilgrim's Pantry, and her mother was a professional chef and caterer, who worked for years with the legendary cookbook author, Charlotte Turgeon. Joanne spent five years cooking with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkley, California and studied with Madeleine Kamman in New England and France and was awarded a Master Chef Diploma. Her ultimate calling has been in her teaching, which has taken her throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy and as of late, Thailand. She spends seven to eight months of the year touring the globe sharing her extensive background with regard to food theory and technique, in particular Mediterranean cuisine and the regional foods of the U.S. Awarded the very first IACP Julia Child Cooking Teacher Award of Excellence in 1997, Joanne shares a lifetime of experience that flavors everything she touches. Her first book, From Tapas to Meze, was selected by Julia Child as one of her 12 personal favorites out of 1000 cookbooks published that year. From there she went on to publish a series of books for Williams Sonoma, and then to become a television personality in the PBS show "Weir Cooking in the Wine Country", shot on location in the Napa Valley. The companion book, Weir's More Cooking in the Wine Country, went on to garner a James Beard Award nomination as well as an IACP Cookbook Award. A completely revised version of From Tapas to Meze was re-released with spectacular food photographs and won the 2004 Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Best Mediterranean Cookbook. You can learn more about Joanne on her website, www.weircooking.com. In the course of Joanne's culinary travels, a lot of endives have found their way to her plate. Her imaginative preparations reflect her love of Mediterranean cuisine with a uniquely American twist, and she's been kind enough to share several of them with us. Joanne says, "This main course dish is best served with steamed basmati rice or roasted potatoes. If any of the chicken is leftover, slice it and tuck it into halved pita with the endive, radicchio, and onions for a tasty lunch sandwich."

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Ingredients

• 6 chicken breasts, 6 to 8 ounces each
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium red onions, 3/4 to 1 lb., cut into 1/2" slices and separated into rings
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly chopped oregano
• 6 medium heads California Endive, 1 to 1 /4 lbs., ends trimmed, cut in half horizontally
• 1 medium head radicchio, 1/2 lb., cut into 6 wedges
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2/3 cup Balsamic vinegar
• whole leaves of Italian parsley

Instructions

1. Trim the chicken breasts of all fat, remove and discard the skin.
2. In a large skillet, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook until golden on one side, 4 minutes.
3. Turn the chicken breasts over, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook until done, 4 to 5 additional minutes. Remove from the pan, cover with foil, and keep warm.
4. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to the skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and oregano and sauté uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
5. Add the endive and sauté uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the endive softens, about 5 minutes.
6. Add the radicchio wedges and cover. Continue to sauté, stirring occasionally, until the radicchio softens, 5 to 6 minutes.
7. Increase the heat to high. Add the onions back to the pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Cook uncovered, stirring constantly, until the vegetables are just tender, about 1 minute.
8. Add the Balsamic, bring to a boil and reduce by half, 1 to 2 minutes.
9. Reduce the heat to medium, add the chicken breasts and their accumulated juices, salt and pepper. Cook until the chicken is hot, 1 to 2 minutes.
10. To serve, place the chicken breasts on a platter surrounded with the vegetables. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately. Serves 6

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