Citrus chicken

If you only ever try two of my recipes, please make this one of them (and make the other one my Oriental Salmon: https://a-cooks-plot.blogspot.com/2018/04/oriental-salmon.html)! They're my two favourite recipes on the blog so far and this one is really, really delicious and couldn't be easier to make. You can either serve it as a warm salad, as I have done here, as a stir-fry - or make double the amount of sauce and you have a lovely dinner-party dish that will wow everyone round the table. You can't get much more versatile than that and, best of all, however you choose to use it, it will only take 5 minutes to cook. (If you have time, marinate the chicken in the sauce for an hour, or even overnight, but it will still be good even if you cook it straightaway.)

The secret to its deliciousness is the combination of orange and lemon juice with fennel seeds - a match made in heaven. There's a little more salt in the recipe than I would normally use, but don't be tempted to skimp on it - you need it to bring out the maximum flavour and although you can get away with a little less, the finished dish won't be quite as fab (I know, because I've tried!).


Citrus chicken

1 orange, zest and juice
1 lemon, juice only
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp sea salt flakes
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken breasts, sliced fairly chunkily
few sprigs of parsley, chopped

Mix the orange and lemon juices and the orange zest with the fennel seeds, sea salt and Dijon mustard and pour over the chicken in a shallow glass dish. Leave to marinate if you have time, but don't worry it not.

Heat the oil and take half the chicken pieces out of the dish using tongs, leaving behind as much of the sauce as you can. Fry over a high heat until cooked through and golden brown, for about 1  minute each side (be careful not to overcook the chicken, or it will be tough). Keep warm and repeat with the rest of the chicken.

Pour the sauce from the glass dish into the pan and bubble for a minute. If serving as a warm salad, arrange the chicken over crisp salad leaves, tomatoes and avocados.

Serves 4

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