Lemon Pistachio Breaded Chicken with a Creamy Honey and Lemon Sauce

This is a bit of a made-up recipe. Okay maybe a lot of a made-up recipe. So it took a few attempts of making this for dinner before it worked.

The sauce and potatoes- fine. But the chicken, who knew breading the chicken is that hard?

Too soggy, it wouldn't stick, too lemon-y, too bland. Argh!

But after trying and trying I think that this is the perfect combination of everything.

However the thing that I believe really makes this dish is the sauce. You've got the crispy and fluffy potatoes smothered in butter with a sprinkle of sea salt. You've got the zesty and crispy breading. Then the rich, sweet and creamy sauce to complete this dish. I could honestly drink the sauce as soup.

In fact, maybe i'll try that...

Lemon Pistachio Breaded chicken with a Creamy Honey and Lemon Sauce

serves: 2

Ingredients

For the breading

• 30g bread crumbs (rye if you can get it

• 40g pistachio nuts

• 1 handful thyme sprigs, leaves removed

• zest of 1/2 small lemon

• 2 chicken breasts (about 300g)

• black pepper and salt, to taste

For the batter

• 1 small egg

• 1 tsp greek yoghurt

• 2 heaped tsp dijon mustard

• 4 tsp spelt flour ( or any other flour, cornstarch can also be used)

For the sauce

• 20g butter

• 1 shallot

• 2 garlic cloves

• 4 sprigs of thyme ( or two bay leaves)

• 50ml single cream

• 50ml chicken stock ( half a chicken stock cube + 50ml water )

• 1tbsp honey

• black pepper, to taste.

• 2 halves lemon, to serve

• 1 packet of broccoli, to serve

• 2 handfuls mini baking potatoes ( about 300g )

method

- Preheat the oven to 350F/180 degrees celsius, fan.

- Line a tray with baking paper and place the potatoes on top. Season and drizzle with a bit of oil. Pop them into the oven to cook for 1 hour.

- Meanwhile make the sauce by melting the butter over a medium low heat in a small saucepan. Add the onions. This is the key stage in making the sauce- make sure you cook the onions for a long time to allow them to really soften and sweeten.

- Make sure to add splashes of water if the onions are looking dry or sticking to the pan.

- After about 10 minutes, add the garlic and thyme. stir everything an let it cook for a couple of minutes.

- Next, pour in the chicken stock and honey. Stir and cook the sauce until reduced slightly.

- Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cream. Cover with tin foil while you wait for the potatoes to finish cooking.

- 30 minutes before the potatoes are ready, Line a deep set baking tray with tin foil.

- Combine the batter ingredients and coat the chicken in it.

- Blitz all the breading ingredients together and place them into a shallow bowl. Add the chicken fillets and flip them around, patting gently.

- Place the chicken fillets in the lined tray and add them beside or below the potatoes ( if they're below. you will have to swap them round after 15 minutes ).

- Ten minutes before serving, steam some broccoli and turn the heat up to 200 degrees celsius to crispen the breading.

- Serve the chicken breast beside some potatoes and the broccoli, with the sauce at the side.