Recipe By Chef Jim Coleman

This dish is not only easy to prep ahead, but the leftovers are also nice sliced into strips for use in salads and sandwiches.

Ingredients

For stuffing:

• 1 Granny Smith apple
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1-½ celery ribs, sliced crosswise 1/8 inch thick
• ½ cup coarse fresh rye bread crumbs (with or without seeds)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 tablespoons dried currants
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

For chicken and pan sauce:

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (2 lb)
• 1-½ tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unfiltered apple cider
• 1 cup chicken broth

Directions

1. Make Stuffing: Peel and core apple and cut into ¼-inch dice. Melt butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté caraway seeds, stirring, 1 minute. Add onion and sauté, stirring, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add apple and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining stuffing ingredients. Cool stuffing completely.

2. Stuff Chicken: Preheat oven to 425°F

3. Pat Chicken dry and arrange, skinned sides down, on a work surface. Remove tender (fillet strip on side where breast bone was) from each breast half if attached, and reserve for another use.

4. Cut a pocket in each breast half. Beginning at center of thicker end of breast, insert a small knife horizontally, stopping about 1 inch from opposite end. Open incision with your fingers to create a 1-inch wide pocket. Pack one sixth of stuffing into each pocket.

5. Cook Chicken: Past chicken dry and season with salt. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown Chicken in 2 batches, about 2 minutes on each side, transferring to a small roasting pan as browns (reserve skillet).

6. Roast Chicken in middle of oven until just cooked through, about 14-16 minutes.

7. While Chicken is roasting, stir flour and fat remaining in skillet and cook roux over moderately low heat, stirring, 1 minutes. Whisk in cider and broth and bring to a boil, whisking, then boil, whisking occasionally, until thickened and reduce to about 1 cup, about 8 minutes.

8. Let chicken stand 5 minutes, then cut each breast half diagonally into thirds. Add any juice from roasting pan and salt and pepper to taste to sauce and spoon over Chicken.

Cook's Note: Chicken can be stuffed 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.