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Chicken mornay with chorizo crumb

Preparation time
less than 30 mins

Cooking time
no cooking required

Serves
Serves 4

By Gary O’Hanlon
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 70ml/2½fl oz vegetable oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 sprigs thyme
  • drizzle olive oil
  • 4 chicken breasts, bone in (available from your local butcher)
  • 4 sprigs thyme
  • 4 knobs butter
  • ½ lemon, juice only
  • 4 tbsp frozen peas
  • knob of butter
  • sea salt and white pepper
  • pea shoots, to serve

For the chorizo crumb

  • 50g/1¾oz walnuts
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp Five-spice powder
  • 80g/3oz chorizo, finely chopped
  • ¼ roasted red pepper, finely chopped

For the sauce

  • 50g/1¾oz Parmesan, grated
  • 6 free-range eggs, beaten
  • 50ml/2fl oz double cream
  • 1 tsp truffle oil
  • 3 pinches white pepper

Method

  1. To make the chicken, blitz the vegetable oil, thyme and 2 garlic cloves in a blender. Season the chicken breasts with salt and white pepper and rub with the marinade. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 2 hours or, preferably, overnight.

  2. Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.

  3. Put the walnuts, brown sugar, five-spice powder and 100ml/3½fl oz water into a small ovenproof dish and mix well. Roast for 8 minutes, then remove from the oven mix well and return to the oven until the walnuts are caramelised and slightly charred.

  4. Leave the walnuts to cool, then grind into a powder in a spice grinder or coffee grinder and set aside.

  5. To make the sauce, mix together the ingredients in a bowl. Heat in a saucepan and cook gently, whisking constantly, until the sauce thickens. Set aside and keep warm.

  6. Put the chorizo in a cold frying pan over a high heat. Slowly fry until all the oil has rendered, then drain on kitchen paper. Mix with the peppers and walnut powder.

  7. Reduce the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Heat the oil in an ovenproof frying pan. Cook the chicken breasts skin side down, until the skin is golden. Add the remaining garlic cloves, thyme and butter. When the butter is foaming, squeeze in the juice from the lemon and baste the chicken for 1 minute, then transfer to the oven for 15 minutes, or until cooked through.

  8. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and drop in the peas. Bring the pan back to the boil and cook for 30 seconds. Drain the peas and return to the pan. Stir in the butter and season with salt and pepper.

  9. Drizzle serving plates with a generous amount of the Parmesan sauce. Cut the chicken breasts in half and arrange on top. Spoon over the peas and sprinkle with the chorizo crumb. Garnish with the pea shoots and serve.

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