- 1 Granny Smith apple
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 celery ribs, sliced crosswise 1/8 inch thick
- 1/2 cup coarse fresh rye bread crumbs (with or without seeds)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 3 tablespoons dried currants
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (2 lb)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unfiltered apple cider
- 1 cup chicken broth
- Peel and core apple and cut into 1/4-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.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- 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.
- 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.
- Pat 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 browned (reserve skillet).
- Roast chicken in middle of oven until just cooked through, 14 to 16 minutes.
- While chicken is roasting, stir flour into fat remaining in skillet and cook roux over moderately low heat, stirring, 1 minute. Whisk in cider and broth and bring to a boil, whisking, then boil, whisking occasionally, until thickened and reduced to about 1 cup, about 8 minutes.
- Let chicken stand 5 minutes, then cut each breast half diagonally into thirds. Add any juices from roasting pan and salt and pepper to taste to sauce and spoon over chicken.