Chicken with Orange and Basil Sauce

It was orientation week of my first year in uni.  I had quickly made a group of friends, and one of them, Ross, was turning 18 that week. Now. That was before I really started cooking. I had gone to a couple of cooking classes that summer, and with those few recipes in my computer and a heart filled with enthusiasm, I so eagerly wanted to cook for Ross and my friends as part of a birthday present. Much of it was a blur. I don’t remember if I actually cooked the whole meal or not, I just remembered my attempt at this chicken with orange sauce. I had learned the recipe from one of the cooking classes in Rome. It was supposed to be easy and delicious – one of those sweet and savory dishes that I love. And since I witnessed the whole procedure and helped chopped onions and squeeze orange juice, I had stupidly thought that it would be a piece of cake to recreate the dish. Thinking back, perhaps my memory is deluding me to protect me, but I honestly don’t remember it being that bad. Yes, the chicken was on the raw side, but the sauce was alright. My friends remember it differently though – they said it was just orange juice poured over medium-rare chicken. All except for Ross, bless, he has never once criticized anything that I cooked, that’s why he’s my favorite. 

Anyway, I suppose that was what motivated me to learn how to cook properly – I had to prove my other friends wrong, that I could cook. It’s been two years so I thought it was time to recreate the dish. This is a slightly different recipe, I’m gonna cook it for them once I get back to uni. It was quite nice this time, I promise, guys.

Oh and another good piece of news – I think I’ve finally gotten a new photographer (potentially two), so come September, the photos will be more delicious-looking than ever. 

Ingredients

1 chicken breast
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup chopped basil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
flour

Method
Put the chicken breast in a bowl with all the other ingredients.  Cover and let it marinate for a couple of hours or overnight.
Take the chicken out, pat it dry and coat it with flour.
Put some oil in a pan and have it heated to high.  Put the chicken in -- about a minute on each side just to brown it.
Turn down the heat, pour in the marinade, cover and let cook for about 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.