It’s grapefruit season again. As long as the freeze didn’t do too much damage we’ll be eating grapefruit for the next three months. It’s a real treat to have a food source like that in your backyard. The juice is my favorite. When they’re really ripe, it only takes two grapefruit to squeeze out an 8-ounce glass.
But how easy it is to forget the joy of that sweet, tangy juice when it’s your two-hundredth cup. Getting rid of so many grapefruit can actually get tedious. This is our third season with the tree; it’s time to move beyond the basics of juice and sugared grapefruit halves. Our first dinner of the season was Honey Orange Grapefruit Chicken served over a Grapefruit-Spinach Salad with Grapefruit Poppy Seed Dressing.
We all loved it – even John, who (gasp) doesn’t like grapefruit that much. The dressing cut the tangy bite of the fruit, and the chicken had a tasty sweet and sour flavor from the blend of honey and grapefruit. The original recipe was printed in Woman’s Day Magazine and is also delicious.
Honey Orange (or Grapefruit) Chicken
- 2 Tbsp. flour
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves
- 2 tsp. oil
- 1 tsp. freshly grated orange or grapefruit peel
- 1/2 cup fresh orange or grapefruit juice
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
Mix flour and salt in a plastic food bag. Add chicken and shake to coat. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning once, 5 minutes or until golden and meat is opaque at center. Remove to serving plate.
Put peel, juice, broth, honey, and garlic in skillet. Boil 4 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in parsley; spoon over chicken.
Poppy Seed Dressing
- Juice from 1-2 grapefruit
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
- Salt and pepper