Brazilian chicken breasts with sautéed bananas

The recent muggy Chicago heat (which has since bizarrely dissipated and left cool temps and high winds) may have motivated us to try out this tropical-themed poultry dish. Sautéed bananas seem like a perfectly natural complement to chicken and rum, but that may be the Thai in me talking.

Recipe

from Chicken BreastsServes 21 large banana, peeled and sliced lengthwise1/2 tbsp olive oil1 whole chicken breast, skinned, boned and halved1/8 tsp ground ginger3 tbsp dark rum1/3 cup dry white wine4 tbsp butterIn a sauté pan, over medium heat, melt 2 tbsp butter. Sauté banana for 4-5 minutes, until brown and crispy. Transfer to a heated platter and set aside. Add remaining 2 tbsp butter and oil to sauté pan, and increase heat to medium high. Sprinkle chicken breasts with ginger, salt and pepper, sauté for 3-5 minutes on each side. Remove the breasts to heated platter and keep warm.Turn heat to very low, and add the rum to sauté pan. After it heats through, touch a lighted match to the rum gently and allow the alcohol to burn off, stirring the sauce as the flame subsides. Return the chicken breast to the pan. Add white wine and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken. Put chicken breasts on the platter between the banana slices, and pour on the sauce.

Musings

A few notes on preparation: We forgot to get ground ginger, so we omitted that from the recipe. David also didn't slice the bananas lengthwise but rather crosswise, which obviously made for a different presentation. The rum didn't really ignite when lit, which probably meant it had burnt off by the time we got to it.Apparently, Brazilians traditionally serve this dish with friend julienne potatoes; though, we ended up going with our old standby of mashed potatoes. After Thailand, David developed a greater appreciation for bananas (which are completely different than what you'd find here). He was still a bit reluctant at the idea of pairing poultry with bananas, or fruit generally, though he admits he should know better by now. In the end, we really enjoyed this dish. The sauce was quite simple, but did an effective job at bringing out the banana flavour. It was a tasty combination, the sweetness of the banana with the saltiness of the sauce and meat. The hint of dark rum was also a nice addition.