Microwave Chicken With Lemon And Olives

This offering is a recipe I've only had once, unfortunately. If ever I visit you and you make this for me I'll forever be indebted to you. The reason I don't have it at home is because Sue doesn't like ginger. Take out the ginger, you say. Won't Mary Ann do? Well, like my once having eaten a bad anchovy, once the taste of ginger was associated with this meal, Sue refused to ever consider it again. I'm okay with that. I could make it for myself, yes, but when I cook things such as this I always prefer to share and enjoy with others. Therefore, I pass it along to you. I will be at your house one day... hoping... praying...

Microwave Chicken With Lemon And Olives
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know--MICROWAVE! You Puritans! What? Do you only reheat stuff and make tea in yours?!?*)

2 lemons
1 tsp coarse salt
2 whole skinless and boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup plus 3 TB fresh lemon juice
2 TB olive oil
1 TB low-fat margarine or low-fat butter
1 onion, peeled, halved and cut into slivers
2 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 TB finely minced crystallized ginger
1 tsp powdered ginger
Pinch of ground turmeric
1-1/2 cups defatted chicken broth
1/3 cup imported black olives
1/3 cup imported green olives
3 TB chopped parsley

With a vegetable peeler, remove peel from lemons in long strips. Drop strips in a saucepan of boiling water and cook for 2-1/2 minutes. Remove from water.

When cool enough to handle (like ME!!), scrape any remaining white pith off back of lemon strips. Cut into 1/8 x 2-inch slivers. Place in a bowl and toss with coarse salt. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

Clean chicken well. Remove excess fat. Cut breasts in half, removing center cartilage. Fan out the fillets on back of breasts. Place breasts in a bowl and pour 1/4 cup lemon juice over them. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Place oil and margarine in a 3-quart microwave-safe casserole. Cover; cook on High for 30 seconds.

Add onion, garlic, crystallized and powdered gingers, turmeric and broth. Stir well. Return to microwave and cook, covered, on High for 5 minutes.

Add lemon peel, olives, remaining lemon juice and 2 TB parsley to casserole. Stir and cook sauce, covered, on High for 2 minutes.

Drain chicken. Place in casserole in one layer, covering with sauce. Cook, covered, on High for 8 minutes or until breasts are tender but not overcooked.

Place chicken in 4 shallow bowls. Spoon sauce and vegetables on top; garnish with remaining parsley.

Serves 4. Per serving: 338 calories, 15g fat, 99mg cholesterol.

* I remember when microwaves were just coming out, like 1977. My stepmother took us to a trade show and we saw recipe after recipe of dishes made with "extraordinary" skill in the new "microwaves". Ours was this titanic affair, basically the top being a micro connected to the bottom, a range. Those were heady days, my friends. Heady days.

This recipe is courtesy of a very old Parade magazine of which I only have the clipping.