This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
I love the taste of preserved lemons – a brilliant tangy addition to many dishes. This particular recipe for Preserved Lemon Chicken is from the marvellous Mary Berry’s Simple Comforts book. Easy to prepare – takes well under an hour – and freezes well. Life after 50 means we often have more time to cook and hone our kitchen skills and certainly through this current lockdown, this is a great recipe to lift the spirits.
Preserved Lemon Chicken
Difficulty: Easy4
servings40
minutesMary says you can use chicken thighs if you prefer but you will need to cook them for 10 minutes longer.
Ingredients
4 small skinless and boneless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, roughly chopped
Garlic clove, crushed
½" knob fresh ginger, finely grated
1 tsp ground cumin
200ml white wine
350ml chicken stock
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp runny honey
2 preserved lemons, chopped
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp chopped parsley or coriander
Directions
- You will need a deep frying pan or saute pan with a lid or a flameproof casserole dish
- Season the chicken breasts. Heat the oil in the pan and fry the chicken over a high heat until golden brown all over, then set them aside.
- Add the onions to the pan and fry for a minute. Lower the heat, cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 5 mins. Add the garlic and ginger, sprinkle in the cumin and fry for 30 secs. Stir in the wine and boil for 2 minutes. Add the stock and puree and bring back to the boil. Stir in the honey and preserved lemons and season with salt and pepper.
- Return the chicken to the pan, cover and bring back to the boil. Lower the heat and leave to simmer gently on the hob for about 20 - 25 minutes until the chicken has cooked through.
- Mix the cornflour with 3 tbsp of cold water in a small bowl. Add a little of the chicken stock and mix well. Add the cornflour mixture to the pan, bring to the boil and stir over the heat until the sauce has thickened. Check the seasoning.
- Sprinkle with the herbs, then serve with mashed potato or rice and fresh greens.
Notes
- Far be it for me to alter a MB recipe but I used three preserved lemons and it was not too lemony, just perfect.
- Can be made up to two days ahead and reheated.
Haven’t made this (yet) but looks a great way to use very similar ingredients. It is a Good Housekeeping recipe which you can see here.
Can also highly recommend this book which is full of family favourites. BUY NOW
Lots more chicken recipes on this website: why not have a browse now