Chicken Meunière Amandine

Wednesday! Where has this week gone?? Now I have a confession to make. It is a pretty big confession. I am not sure if it will come as much of a shock….but I feel I have to share it with you this before I start telling you about this wonderful recipe.

I made this dish today and, as Stew isn’t in for dinner tonight, I ate early with the boys. I cooked the chicken and boiled a big pan of baby potatoes up. You can just see them at the back of the photo. I had planned to save some for tomorrow so I could make the boys some sautéed potatoes (and proscuito wrapped fish). Well that was the plan 😳 I portioned out the chicken and saved a chicken thigh to have on a sub roll tomorrow. The boys and I sat down to eat, we finished, I bathed them, read them a story and put them to bed. Life was normal. I cleaned up a little and was about to wrap the potatoes up, that is when I made my first mistake. I grabbed a cold potato from the bowl. Then I grabbed another. And all might have been okay if I had stopped there……I didn’t.

Earlier today I made a batch of homemade mayonnaise as I want to make a red cabbage remoulade. Well it was just sitting in the fridge all glossy and delicious so I grabbed the pot and dipped another potato in it. And another. You can tell where this story is going can’t you. There are no potatoes left! That is what I get for eating at 5pm. Come 8:30pm I am hungry again. Which is why I am now full of potatoes and mayo. It was bad but very very good! 😉

So that is my confession, tonight I ate what really could be classed as two dinners! The first was this delicious and simple chicken dish. I really wish the photos could do it justice. I had two hungry boys and very harsh evening light so I am not really happy with the photos. But the dish. Oh this dish. It is simple, delicious and is inspired by the wonderful French dish of ‘Trout Amandine’  (trout and almonds). The Meunière sauce is the classic french sauce of browned butter, lemon and chopped parsley. Together you get the most amazing mix of sweet nuttiness and tartness all mixed with a rich butter and the crunchy (with a touch of chew) almonds.

You want to ensure you use a good quality butter as a cheap rancid butter will give you a cheap rancid sauce. I use a delicious butter produced just down the road in Capel. But any butter that you would happily slather over fresh warm bread will work. Just promise me you won’t use a butter substitute. I will cry.

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Serves 4

• 4 chicken thighs
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 whole cloves of garlic
• 75g butter
• 35g sliced almonds
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• Handful of chopped flat leaf parsley

1. Generously season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Place a frying pan on a medium/high heat and add the olive oil.
3. Cook the chicken on one side for 5 minutes until golden and crispy.
4. Turn the heat down, flip the chicken, add the whole garlic and cook for 10 minutes until the chicken has cooked through.
5. Remove the chicken from the pan and allow to rest whilst you make the sauce.
6. Remove and discard the garlic.
7. Add the butter to the frying pan and let it melt over a low heat.
8. Turn up the heat slightly and allow the solids in the butter to start to cook. Watch it carefully.
9. Once the butter has bubbled and is foamy and starting to brown, add the nuts and stir gently until they start to colour.
10. Squeeze in the lemon juice, stir through the zest and then add the parsley.
11. Stir the sauce and then serve poured over the chicken.