Extra recipes: Citrus poultry with almonds and roasted parsnips

So, last week this blog was featured on two websites, which is great! I got a lot of lovely comments and I want to thank you all for reading. Also, welcome, new followers! I hope I don't disappoint. Please also leave feedback on recipes you've tried, so that I can improve them (they worked for me, of course, but that could be a fluke! A sample size of 1 isn't the most reliable).

To thank you all, I've decided to publish two extra recipes today: we're making a full meal with citrus poultry with almonds and roast parsnips!

So there you are, having people over for dinner and thinking 'X likes parsnip, I'll make roasted parsnip! And that's a GW2 recipe, two birds with one stone!'. But then you think, 'You can't make an update with just roasted parsnip... I'll know, this citrus poultry with almonds thing sounds good, I'll do that too.' And you're cooking away, and people at the table are chatting... and waiting... and waiting a bit more... because the parsnips take longer than expected and you can't turn the heat too high under the chicken or the almond/ginger paste will burn. So by the time you finally have dinner ready, you don't even care about taking decent pictures for the blog anymore, you just want to eat.

That's my excuse for these terrible pictures and I'm sticking with it. (still beats using hair lacquer and glue to pretty up the food)

The GW2 illustration looks like a roulade has been made of the chicken. I rarely work with quantities of meat large enough to make a roulade, and I find that unless it's a special occasion or you're having to feed 12 people at once it's not really worth the effort. So I didn't bother with that and just used regular chicken breasts. If you're one of those people who colour-coordinates their meal even when cooking for themselves, you're going to have to serve the parsnip with some beef and the citrus poultry with something green. I only colour-coordinate at Christmas and Easter, so I just go by taste. And I love both of these! Best served with a nice boiled waxy potato. 

Citrus poultry with almonds

Ingredients (4 portions):

2 whole or 4 halve chicken breast (or whatever quantity of chicken breast you usually serve for 4 people)

50 g almonds

2 cm fresh ginger

25 g butter

30 g flour

grated rind and juice of 1 orange

grated rind and juice of 1/2 lemon

milk

Peel the ginger and cut into strips. Put the almonds and the ginger in a food processor and blend until it is a rough paste (add a drop of vegetable oil if necessary). Rub the mixture into the chicken and pat on the remaining mixture. Cover tightly with cling film. Leave for 20 minutes up to 1 hour.

In a pan with a thick bottom, melt the butter. When the butter has stopped bubbling, add a tablespoon of flour. Stir well until all the flour has been absorbed. Continue doing this 1 tablespoon at a time until all the flour has been added to the butter. Keep stirring for 1-2 minutes over medium heat. Add the orange and lemon zest and juice. Stir well until the juice has been absorbed by the roux. Now add a splash of milk and stir until it has been absorbed. Continue doing this, just a splash at a time, until the sauce is the desired consistency. I like to leave mine quite thick, but you can make it into a delicate thin sauce for pouring over the chicken. Cover the pan and turn off the heat.

Rub (don't wash!) the excess ginger-almond paste off the chicken. Fry the chicken in a shallow frying pan over low-to-medium heat, flipping regularly and covering it with a lid for the last 5 minutes or so. Reheat the sauce just before serving, stirring it well. Serve the sauce either on the chicken or on the side. Enjoy!

My sister's citrus cream sauce
For a different take on the citrus cream sauce, try my sister's recipe. Works well with both savoury and sweet dishes!

Ingredients: 
20 g butter
20 g flour
Grated rind and juice of 1 orange
Grated rind of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
250 ml milk
Salt or sugar

Melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the lemon and orange zest and stir for 30 seconds. Add the flour and stir until all the flour has been absorbed. Stirring continuously, add the fruit juice and milk a bit at a time. Season to taste with salt or sugar depending on wheter you use it for a savoury or sweet dish. My sister serves it with quail, with roast potatoes and caramelized carrots. Yum!

Roasted parsnips

Ingredients (4 portions):

800 g parsnip

3 tblsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade. Peel the parsnips, remove the end, cut in quarters lengthwise and remove the hard core. Cut into thin fries. Place in a baking tray, sprinkle over the oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat evenly. Cover with aluminium foil and roast in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes, giving it a good stir about halfway through. Remove the aluminium foil and roast for another 10 minutes. Enjoy!