Sweet-and-Sour Chicken-Apricot Skewers

Notes: Serve with hot cooked couscous and a spinach salad with currants and toasted pine nuts.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup  apricot jam
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  soy sauce
• 1/2  teaspoon  dried basil
• 1/4  teaspoon  cayenne
• 2  lemons (5 oz. each)
• 1  pound  boned, skinned chicken breast halves
• About 1/2 cup dried apricots
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

1. In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat jam in a microwave oven at full power (100%) until melted, 30 to 45 seconds. Stir in soy sauce, basil, and cayenne.

2. Rinse lemons and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Discard ends and any seeds.

3. Rinse chicken and pat dry; cut into 1-inch pieces.

4. Thread 2 pieces of chicken onto an 8- to 10-inch-long skewer. Fold 1 lemon slice around 1 dried apricot and thread onto skewer through both sides of lemon slice. Repeat to fill 4 skewers equally. Set skewers on a rack in a foil-lined 10- by 13-inch broiler pan. Brush jam mixture generously all over chicken and fruit.

5. Broil about 4 inches from heat, turning once, until chicken is no longer pink in the center (cut to test), 8 to 10 minutes total. If desired, set pan over high heat, add any remaining jam mixture, and stir, scraping up browned bits, until boiling; pour into a small bowl and serve with meat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

279 (5.7% from fat)

Protein:

28g

Fat:

1.8g (sat 0.4)

Carbohydrate:

44g

Fiber:

5g

Sodium:

479mg

Cholesterol:

66mg