Texture is important

Got your attention?

Mmmm, it was tasty. And fast!

Smoked Almond Crusted Chicken
with Mustard Shallot Cream Sauce

I made this up as I went, so I don't really have measurements, but will guestimate here:

2 large chicken breasts, cut into quarters (8 pieces in total)
1/2 cup flour
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp ground coriander
1 egg, beaten with a touch of water
1/2 cup smoked almonds, chopped to bits
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
4 TB vegetable oil
1 TB butter
1 shallot, sliced thing
4 TB water
1 TB grainy mustard
3/4 cup cream


Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil.

Lightly dredge the chicken pieces in flour, which had salt, pepper, cayenne and cumin mixed in.

Dip the chicken in the egg.

Lay the chicken into the almond/bread crumb blend. Coat evenly. Gently lay into the hot oil. Cook for a few minutes per side...until perfectly golden brown and ferociously delicious.

Remove to a warm plate.

Pour out the excess oil. Toss in the butter and the shallots. Give a quick stir. As the butter stops foaming, add the little bit of water (or broth if you have a little bit handy), scrape up the tasty bits. Quickly stir in the mustard. Then the cream. stir to incorporate. Gently simmer for a quick minute or two. When it thickens a wee bit you're good.

Plate the chicken and spoon some of the sauce over the chicken.



The flavors are pretty good. The almonds give some great texture, but the "smoked" flavor doesn't come through. I was ok with that. The texture was worth the flavor sacrifice. I might have mentioned before that I was never a huge fan of mustard, but in the right way, it's really tasty. I like this way. I look forward to trying this again to see how I might make it better, maybe draw out some of the flavors more.

The almond/bread crumb mixture...to give you an idea of the texture we get.