Chicken with escarole, apples and potatoes

This unusual combination from Sara Jenkins' cookbook adds a layer of flavor to the chicken and is fun to make. As she says in the headnote, you accumulate flavors cooking everything in the same skillet, so that when you finish the final sauce with a swirl of butter it all goes over the chicken again.

The recipe calls for 4 skin-on boneless chicken breasts, which most supermarkets don't offer. So I bought the bone-in breasts and de-boned and trimmed the breasts myself, saving the tenders for another day and freezing the ribs and bits for stock. You brown the breasts in olive oil and pop them in a 250-degree oven in a baking pan covered with foil. Pour out the oil from the skillet and add 2 tablespoons butter to saute the pieces of 2 semi-tart apples (I used McIntosh), peeled, cored and cut into 8 pieces.

Earlier, you boil 12 ounces of new potatoes until tender, cool, and flatten with a chef's knife. After sauteeing the apples, you add 2 more tablespoons of butter and fry up the flattened potatoes, about 2 minutes a side. (She doesn't call for it, but I slipped the potatoes into the oven with the chicken to keep them nice and hot.) Next, you add a peeled, crushed clove of garlic to the skillet and start filling it with 2 pounds of torn escarole leaves, adding more as they wilt. Add 1/2 cup white wine and cook until lettuce is tender and liquid is reduced. Return the apple pieces to skillet to warm up again. Plate the potatoes, chicken and escarole mix, swirl another tablespoon of butter into the juices in the skillet, and pour that over the chicken.

The breasts remain moist and their skin has all the flavor from the oil. The bitter escarole is balanced by the apples and the potatoes and butter just round out the whole dish in a very satisfying way. It is a simple, easy revelation.