Friday, January 6, 2012

Meryl's Sticky Lemon Chicken

A wonderful recipe that Meryl modified from the fantastic Gordon Ramsay's wonderful cookery book "Fast Food". Once you try this version, do rush out and get Mr. Ramsay's book so you can make the dish his way. I hear that you don't have to curse to cook like Ramsay. Sticky Lemon Chicken is as amazingly fast to make as it is delicious. The nutrition facts for Meryl's version are at Calorie Count!

Sticky Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
4 chicken thighs
1 t sea salt*
1 t black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
10 garlic cloves, sliced
1 t dried thyme
1 t Sherry (this is an as you like it amount. If you are not a Sherry person, you can use a splash of white vinegar, but if you like Sherry, do feel free to use quite a bit more and let it reduce a bit after adding it.)
2 tbsp soy sauce, dark (low sodium for those on low sodium diets, but if you make the salt and soy sauce change, do remember that the nutrition facts are based on if you salted the whathaveyou out of it)
3 tbsp honey
1 lemon, sliced as thin as you can
1 c flat leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:

Sprinkle the chicken with *salt and pepper - if you are on a low sodium diet do feel free to give the salt a skip entirely as there is enough flavor in this dish to rock your socks.

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. When the oil is hot (don't let it smoke!), brown the chicken pieces over a high heat with the garlic and thyme for about 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. If it's not browning in that time, your heat is too low, so raise the temp. If your pan is not roomy enough to give space between the chicken pieces, brown in a couple batches - just put the first batch on a plate to wait.

Put all the chicken to the pan, add the sherry and reduce to a simmer. Sprinkle with soy sauce and honey and shake the pan to mix...ok, stir if you are not a chef and a skilled pan shaker.

Buy it here!
Heat a little water (a few tablespoons to 1/4 cup max and add to the pan with the lemon slices. The liquid will reduce a bit and thicken, which will take about 10 minutes, but keep on simmering until the chicken is cooked through.

Put the chicken on your prettiest platter and sprinkle over the chopped parsley. Parsley is good for you so use a lot and eat it!

Remember, to see the real Ramsay way to make this dish, get the book.This is what you will look for. Worth every penny.



TO USE THE NEW PRINT BUTTON click on the title of the recipe so that it opens on its own page and then click the Button, you can edit the page and print only what you want Print Friendly and PDF
Posted by Janice at 10:27 AM
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8 comments:

  1. campsmoreJanuary 13, 2012 at 5:02 PM

    Made this tonight with lime... Bang!!! Love it, keep 'em coming!

    ReplyDelete
  2. riverroadsgirlJanuary 14, 2012 at 5:50 AM

    this sounds yummy but i have a question? can the measurement on the vinegar be correct? i've never reduced 1/2 TEASPOON of anything!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. JaniceJanuary 14, 2012 at 2:54 PM

    I doubt if it takes long. I'll ask Meryl. She's from New Zealand and should be up soon!

    ReplyDelete
  4. JaniceJanuary 14, 2012 at 3:22 PM

    Meryl says she really doesn't measure and just guessed how much. She said you can use more if you likes and then reduce or just skip the reducing part altogether. I'll change the recipe to reflect that. Thanks for pointing that out!

    ReplyDelete
  5. seanys showJanuary 16, 2012 at 7:25 PM

    how many people is this for? I have just started using the site and have noticed that a lot of the recipes are set out for several people. That's difficult if you are only cooking for one or two. I don't want to just divide it all by X as it's not always that simple with herbs and spices.

    ReplyDelete
  6. JaniceJanuary 16, 2012 at 8:10 PM

    if you click on the nutrition facts link right before the recipe, it will open the analysis at Calorie Count. The analysis is for one serving. Next to the words Ingredients there is a set of parenthesis within which are the servings. In this case four servings. That's one breast AND one thigh each serving - a very generous serving. More than I could eat.

    Now, if you want to change the amount of servings for more accuracy, the best thing to do would be to copy and paste the ingredients into a new analysis (assuming you are a member of Calorie Count you can do that easily) and reset the number of servings.

    As to making less and reducing the recipe, why not just cut it in half (no need for precision, just close enough will do) or leave as is and freeze the portions so you can just pull one out and nuke any old time! Far better than fast food.

    Remember too, that all recipes (except baking where a ratio of dry to wet to fat is critical) are a mere template. You don't have to be exact in your division.

    If this did not answer your questions and concerns, let me know where I missed. :D

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJanuary 17, 2012 at 9:14 PM

    Are these skin on chicken breasts and is that really enough time to get them done? I always have to overcook chicken cause my husband is paranoid about making sure it's done. How can 1 TBS of olive oil be enough to brown that much chicken?

    ReplyDelete
  8. JaniceJanuary 18, 2012 at 9:02 AM

    Meryl's made this a number of times and uses 1 T of oil, but if you think it should be more, then go for it but drain any excess after browning your chicken.

    The final cooking time says "keep on simmering until the chicken is cooked through."

    I'll ask her about the skin and get back with you.

    Recipes are templates and can vary dramatically depending on your kitchen set up and taste buds! If you question a step and want to change it, do it.

    If you try more oil, make sure to come back and let us know how it worked! That goes for anyone that makes this. Let us know how you improved the dish.

    Hey, Campsmore, did you use 1 T of oil when you made it? Did you make any alterations? Skin on or off?

    ReplyDelete

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