Poached chicken breasts with almond sauce is a simple dish to make. It can be prepared in advance, and it easily feeds a crowd. Six chicken breasts are enough for 12 people if you’re serving them as part of a larger meal with salads. The almond sauce recipe belongs to the excellent chefs of Ester. It’s one of my favourite restaurants, as it was one the of the first restaurants I remember that made heroes out of vegetable dishes. They serve their almond sauce on top of whole roasted cauliflower. The sauce is also delicious with roasted broccoli or romanesco.
Shred the leftover chicken and mix it with the almond sauce for sandwiches. Save the egg whites to make lime and coconut macaroons.
Best wishes,
Amanda
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Poached Chicken Breasts with Almond Sauce
Ingredients
Poached Chicken Breasts
- 6 single chicken breast fillets
- 1 cup white wine (optional, substitute with a cup of water if you prefer)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp juniper berries
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup roasted almonds to garnish
- 1/2 cup mint leaves to garnish
Almond Sauce
- 200 g raw almonds or 200g almond meal
- 400 mL extra virgin olive oil
- 300 mL water
- 4 egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 tbsp brown rice vinegar
- sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
Poached Chicken Breasts
- Arrange the chicken breasts in a single layer in a large pot or saucpean.
- Pour the wine over the top of the chicken breasts, add the other ingredients, then pour over enough cold water to cover the chicken by about 4 cm.
- Place over a medium heat, bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, keep the saucepan covered, allowing the chicken to cool for 2 hours.
- Refrigerate the chicken in the stock for up to 3 days until ready to serve. Freeze the stock if you like to use for a soup base.
- When ready to serve, remove the chicken breasts from the poaching liquid. Cut into thin slices and arrange on a platter. Pour the almond sauce on the top and sprinkle with chopped roasted almonds and mint leaves.
Almond Sauce
- If using whole raw almonds, grind them into almondmeal using a blender or a food processor.
- Heat the almonds with the water in a small saucepan for about 5 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Mix the almond mixture with the egg yolks, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in a blender. You can whisk this by hand if you like, but I find blending the ingredients gives you a creamier sauce.
- Taste the sauce - you may wish to add a little more vinegar or seasoning.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use. Bring to room temperature before serving.
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