Chicken Amandine With Almond & Broccolini Purée

By ltrodrigu

Pictured upper right

Ingredients

• 1 bunch broccolini, dry ends trimmed and florets separated from stems
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 tablespoons sliced almonds, divided
• 1 cup whole milk, plus more as needed
• a pinch of salt and more, to taste
• a pinch of freshly ground white pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 1/2 pounds thin-cut boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained, rinsed and roughly chopped
• 1/2 lemon supreme
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from wsj.com

Preparation

Step 1

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Take trimmed broccolini and set stems aside for later use. Blanch florets until crisp-tender and bright green, about 2 minutes. Transfer florets to a colander and rinse under cold water to cool. Pat dry and set aside.

Discard boiling water, wipe pan clean and set pot back over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and broccolini stems and their leaves, if attached, to pot. Sauté until stems turn bright green, about 4 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons sliced almonds, milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook stems until very tender, 15-20 minutes. Add extra splashes of milk or water if pot looks dry. Transfer everything to a blender and purée until smooth. If purée is too thick, blend in extra splashes of milk until desired consistency is attained. Season with salt to taste.

Cook Chicken:
Set a large, non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter to pan, swirling to coat. Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt. Lay chicken into pan. Cook on one side until browned, about 5-7 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons butter to pan, flip chicken and cook another 4-5 minutes. Test for doneness. Transfer fillets to a plate and set non-stick pan back over low heat.

Add reserved blanched florets, 2 tablespoons sliced almonds, capers, supremed lemon and lemon juice to non-stick pan. Sauté, using a wooden spoon to break up supremes, until aromatic, 1 minute.

To serve, lay each chicken fillet on a plate. Scoop broccoli florets, almonds, capers and lemons, along with remaining sauce from pan, over chicken. Serve with a good dollop of the broccolini purée under or alongside chicken. Serve immediately.