Saturday, January 2, 2010

Chicken with lemon - delicious in more ways than one





In my neverending quest to find uncomplicated, quick-to-make meals, I came across this recipe in delicious magazine.  It would not usually leap out, as it looks fairly nondescript, but it does contain lemon, butter, white wine and chicken, which is always a wonderful combination.

Chef Tobie Puttock describes how this dish was very popular when he was an apprentice at Caffe e Cucina in Melbourne, and how it can be made in one pan.  You're preaching to the converted, Tobie.  'Tagliata' means 'cut' in Italian, and the chicken is finely sliced to promote quick cooking.  The original recipe calls for chicken breast fillets to be used, but I used chicken thigh fillets instead, as the flavour and texture are much better and the meat does not dry out so easily should you leave it in the pan for too long.

Maltagliata di pollo con limone
(pan-fried chicken with lemon)
serves 2

Ingredients
1 lemon
2 tbs olive oil
20g unsalted butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup (35g) plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
400g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 5mm strips
100ml dry white wine
100ml chicken stock
1 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp roughly chopped marjoram or parsley
rocket salad, to serve

Method
1.  Cut thin strips of lemon rind using a zester, then peel the lemon and thinly slice the flesh. Set aside.
2.  Heat 1 tbs oil and 10g butter in a large non-stick frypan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, until softened.  Remove from pan and set aside.
3.  Add remaining oil and butter to the pan.  Toss the chicken in the flour to coar.  Shake off excess flour and add chicken to the pan.  Cook chicken in batches for 1 minute, until golden.
4.  Return onion and all the chicken to the pan.  Add the wine, then simmer for 1-2 minutes until almost evaporated.
5.  Add lemon zest, lemon slices, sugar and stock.  Bring to the boil, then simmer for 2-3 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half and the chicken is cooked.
6.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir through the herbs.  Serve with rocket salad.

Recipe adapted from delicious (Dec 2009/Jan 2010)


Chicken not shown (nothing attractive about raw chicken, I've found)


After adding and simmering the wine, stock and lemon, the sauce becomes thick and syrupy.  Sprinkle with herbs for flavour and colour.


This is a light, flavoursome dish...


...and very tempting to Tabitha cat when dining alfresco...

13 comments:

  1. oh yum! I noticed that recipe too, but have yet to try it...glad you tested it before me!

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  2. One pan cooking is my favourite kind. White wine and lemon sound great - no wonder Tabitha was tempted!

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  3. Looks delicious! Thanks for the lack of raw chicken photos :)

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  4. I understand your cat I would like to have some too !! happy new year from a french foodie in Paris
    Cheers
    Pierre

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  5. One-pan meals are the saving grace of a weeknight in terms of prep, cooking and washing up times!

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  6. Gosh, I can not get enough of all of your food dishes and everything that you make, keep it coming, how refreshing! I hope you New Year got off to a wonderful start and that I wish for you many happy returns this year, be happy and well!!

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  7. I am pretty sure a dish like this had no leftovers but in the future - if you are cooking up anything that looks even remotely like this - give me a call! :)

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  8. This is a great recipe. I have cooked it twice now, once for myself and then again for my parents. It has very large servings and could easily feed three. I served it with rice.

    Great photos

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  9. That does look delicious, will have to try it for dinner tomorrow night!

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  10. This does sound tasty, and yes, I'm all for chicken thigh fillets too :)

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  11. This is such a refreshing summer dish. I already like it with the sound of the title :)

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  12. Nice and tangy with the lemon...good match. And Tabitha...takin a little peek... saying "ooohh...dat look good. I'm gonna sneak me some licks"

    Cats seem to think we won't notice. LOL

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  13. hi Reemski - is it just me or is Tobie Puttock a bit nerdy? Anyway, the recipe and ingredients caught my attention rather than the chef!

    hi Arwen - I have an old bottle of white wine purely for cooking, and the ageing is very good for it! And yes, Tab thinks so too!

    hi Conor - hmm, glad you approve. Raw chicken is a bit off-putting, isn't it?

    hi Pierre - thanks so much for dropping by!

    hi mlle delicieuse - my thoughts exactly! And I handwash, so the less pans, the better!

    hi Tiffany - hope you had a good new year's. Will catch up with you through more blogging this year.

    hi Trissa - next time, I will send Tabitha down the road with a note for you!

    hi Mark - um, yes, serves three... Actually, I have a big eater in the house so it served 2 in this case. But you are so right, it's a great recipe!

    hi YaYa - hope the recipe worked for you, too. I really liked the flavours in it.

    hi Helen - the only recipe that I can think of using chicken breast (rather than thigh) is chicken schnitzel. Thigh meat is so much more moist and tasty.

    hi Ellie - most things sound molto squisito in Italian!

    hi Adrian - lol! Cats couldn't care less what we think, and that's why we love them, isn't it?!

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