Chicken & Orange Bake

This is the kind of dish you bring out when company’s coming and you want to impress without spending your whole afternoon in the kitchen. Chicken breasts rubbed with garlic butter get a quick blast of high heat to seal in the juices, then bake for an hour in a fragrant sauce of orange juice, curry powder, cinnamon, raisins, and slivered almonds.

Mandarin oranges and sliced banana go in during the last few minutes, warming just enough to soften without turning to mush. The result is a glossy, fruited curry-style bake that hits sweet, savory, warm, and nutty all in one bite.

Spoon it over steaming rice and let the sauce puddle around the grains. Your guests will ask for this recipe.

Chef Tips

• Start at high heat, then drop the temperature. The initial blast at high heat sears the garlic butter onto the chicken and creates a light crust. The lower temperature for the remaining hour cooks it through gently.
• Add the banana and oranges in the last few minutes only. They’re there for texture and brightness, not as a cooked component. Too long in the oven turns banana to mush and mandarin segments to pulp.
• Toast the slivered almonds before adding. Even though they’ll bake in the sauce, a quick toast first deepens their flavor and gives them a better crunch.