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Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Twice the tart
Recipe takes lemon chicken
to the next level
BY GRETCHEN MCKAY • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
D
on’t you hate it when someone improves on a dish you’ve made dozens of times, and are pretty
sure you’ve already perfected?
One of my family’s favorite meals is a tangy lemon chicken recipe I found years ago in a long-forgotten
cookbook that takes around 15 minutes to cook in a simple sauce of butter, olive oil and the juice of one or two
fresh lemons.
Dang, has Yotam Ottolenghi got me beat.
In his latest cookbook, the Israeli-born
British chef known for his expert take on Medi-
terranean cooking (much of it vegetarian) takes lemon
chicken to the next level by pairing crispy, pan-fried
chicken with a sauce that marries homemade preserved
lemon with fresh lemon juice kissed with garlic, a pinch
of sugar, turmeric and the warm, citrusy bite of cumin
seed.
He calls the preserved lemon a “cheat” because, rather
than ripening in a jar for a few weeks, the citrus slices are
brought to a simmer with juice over medium heat until
tender and translucent and then blitzed into a curd-like,
spreadable sauce. Also a little different: Rather than sim-
ply dusting the chicken in flour to make it fry up crispy,
he gives the pounded breasts a 30-minute soak in a mix-
ture of egg white and cornstarch flavored with soy sauce.
Garnished with a crunchy mix of green onion and
fresh cilantro, the end result is a standout dish with nu-
anced layers of flavor you’ll want to eat again and again.
If you don’t have a meat mallet, use a rolling pin or the
bottom of a heavy pan to pound the chicken breast into
thin pieces between parchment or waxed paper.
For a complete meal, Ottolenghi suggests serving the
chicken with plain white rice and some lightly cooked
greens. But it’s pretty darn delicious on its own, right out
of the pan.
DOUBLE LEMON CHICKEN
WITH CHEAT’S PRESERVED
LEMON
For cheat’s preserved lemon
1 large unwaxed lemon, ends trimmed and discarded,
cut into 1/4 -inch slices, seeds removed
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons flaked sea salt
For chicken
2 large egg whites
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 large chicken breasts
6 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 green onion, trimmed and finely sliced at an angle
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and black pepper
For lemon sauce
3 tablespoons preserved lemon (see above)
3 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted
and roughly crushed, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
the remaining breasts. Stir everything together
gently to coat, then marinate at least half an hour, or
refrigerate overnight if you’re getting ahead.
Make preserved lemon: Put all the ingredients into a small
saucepan with lid. Bring to a simmer on medium-high heat,
cover with lid and cook for 12-14 minutes, or until rinds start
to look translucent and the juice has reduced by about half.
Set aside to cool slightly then transfer to the bowl of a food
processor and blitz until you have a smooth, spreadable paste.
Put back the chicken breasts and cook for just 3 minutes,
gently turning them halfway through. Remove from heat
and stir in 2 tablespoons lemon juice for the sauce.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together egg whites,
soy sauce, cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a good grind of
pepper until there are no lumps, about 30 seconds.
Working with one breast at a time, place chicken between
2 pieces of parchment paper and use a meat mallet (or
bottom of pan) to pound chicken evenly so it’s just 1/2-inch
thick. Transfer to the egg-white bowl and continue with
Make the sauce by first putting 3 tablespoons of the
preserved lemon, stock, butter, garlic, sugar, turmeric and
half the cumin in a medium saucepan and placing it on
medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then cook for 15 minutes,
stirring a couple of times, until reduced by about half. Add
3 tablespoons of sauce to small bowl, add cornstarch and
whisk until there are no lumps. Whisk this back into the
saucepan and cook for 1 minute on medium-high, whisking
continuously, until smooth and thickened slightly. Remove
from heat.
Heat 6 tablespoons oil in a large, high-sided frying pan
over medium-high heat. Once hot, fry two of the marinated
breasts for 3 minutes per side, or until nicely browned and
just cooked through. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate
and continue with remaining chicken. Pour off oil into a
bowl. Add lemon sauce to the frying pan and bring to a
simmer on medium-high heat.
Transfer chicken breasts to a large serving platter with a
lip and pour sauce all over. Sprinkle with remaining cumin
seeds. In a small bowl, toss together green onion, cilantro
and lemon juice and spoon over top.
Serve immediately.
Serves 4.
— “Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things” by Noor
Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi (Clarkson Potter, 2022, $32)
Garnished
with a
crunchy mix
of green onion
and fresh
cilantro, the
end result is a
standout dish
with nuanced
layers of
flavor you’ll
want to eat
again and
again.
For a complete
meal,
Ottolenghi
suggests
serving the
chicken with
plain white
rice and some
lightly cooked
greens. But it’s
pretty darn
delicious on its
own, right out
of the pan.
Gretchen McKay/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-TNS
Yotam Ottolenghi’s lemon chicken recipe is made with a “cheat’s” preserved lemon paste.
As winter dries the air, it’s time to move gardening indoors
JENNIE
HAGEN
GARDENING WITH GRANDMA
W
e’ll take our gardening inside this week
and try to get, and keep, our house-
plants in top condition as the dry air of
winter surrounds them.
Whether we have wood heat or forced air fur-
naces, it’s going to be drier inside. I have noticed
my summer schedule of weekly inside waterings
are now way too few and my larger plants are
needing water at two-day intervals. And as much
as I like them, they are sometimes forgotten. And
seldom are they forgiving.
A useful tip for plants that require increased
humidity are acrylic trays, or deep plates, that can
have gravel filled bottoms about halfway up the
sides. The type of colored gravel most often used
in fish aquariums is perfect for this application. It’s
strongly recommended that gravel from our yards
or driveways not be used, as it frequently has con-
taminants that can spread to plants. Keep these
trays filled with water just up to the top of the
gravel — your plants will appreciate this increased
humidity.
While the growing cycle of outdoor plants has
ceased, most indoor plants will stay healthier if
given low doses of fertilizer about once a month.
Just use the fertilizer at one-quarter the normal
application rate, then along about March we’ll
start to increase this.
Routine indoor maintenance should include
removing the top layer of soil, when possible, and
replacing it with new potting mix. Just replacing
the top layer of soil can really rejuvenate a plant
that has been in the same pot for years.
Another must-have for indoor maintenance are
bonsai or garden tool sets.These miniature tools
aren’t just cute, they can be powerful work horses,
too! With their tiny design, it becomes possible
to get between the small stems of even the most
delicate plants for trimming old or dead growth.
These tiny tool sets can be purchased online for a
very reasonable price. A single pair of trimming
snips can cost as little as $8, while sets of up to
20 items can be purchased for less than $30. The
items in the accompanying photo were purchased
for less than $20. Many online retailers have these
small gardening tools.
Have any of your “indoor” plants spent the
summer on the deck, or somewhere else outside?
If possible, try to isolate them for up to a week
from your other indoor plants. This will give you
the opportunity to discover what diseases or pests
have infiltrated both the upper and lower levels
of growth or soil. The hitchhikers can be sneaky,
so if you suspect unwelcome guests, isolation will
more readily allow you to identify and remove the
intruders.
My indoor ferns are struggling to survive in
my home, I know they need more watering than I
have been giving them. So before I put these tools
away, I need to get some trimming done. And wa-
tering.
This is all from Grandma, hope your ferns are
happier than mine!
█
Jennie Hagen is a native Oregonian who has spent 40 years
gardening east of the Cascades. She is a member of the
Garden Writers Association and has previously written
for the Home & Garden section of The Oregonian, and for
The Observer, the Baker City Herald, and the Burns Times
Herald.
Jennie Hagen/Contributed Photo
Bonsai gardening tools are inexpensive but very
helpful in maintaining houseplants.