French cuisine has its luscious sauces, and certainly plenty of cuisines can be rich in texture and taste. This sauce from Spain is luscious in a more rustic, hearty way. The almonds provide both texture and work as a thickener. The flavors come from the egg, garlic and saffron, all working in a subtle, and I dare say seductive way. At a minimum, this is a wonderfully different way to prepare chicken. Serves 2.
Ingredients:
4 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2 cloves garlic
1 slice bread
1 tbsp chicken stock
1 pinch saffron
1 hard-boiled egg yolk
2 chicken breasts
salt/pepper
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup sherry
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
1 pinch nutmeg
1 tbsp chopped parsely
Directions:
Warm 2 tbsp olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the almonds and saute a few minutes to brown to a golden color. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute more. Spoon out the mixture into a food processor. In the same pan, saute the bread until golden. Tear the cooked bread into chunks and add to the almond mixture. Crush the saffron and mix with the 1 tbsp of chicken stock in a small bowl. Add with the egg yolk to the almond bread mixture. Blend the mixture briefly in the processor until a paste is formed.
Wipe out the pan and the remaining 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and brown in the pan a few minutes on both sides. Add the 3/4 cup stock, sherry, bay leaf and thyme, cover and simmer perhaps 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and stir in the paste, simmering a little to reheat and thicken. Serve with the nutmeg and parsley sprinkled on top if desired.
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