David's Recipe for Chicken Breasts with Thyme and Lemon

Why potato starch? I made this the day after Passover, and potato starch was the only starch-type thickener I had in the house. I suspect that if you substitute fish filets for the chicken and cook a little less, you get a Sephardic Pesach dish I once saw in a book.

Main Course, Vaguely Greek

 
  • 12 skinless and boneless chicken breasts
  • Olive oil for sauteing
  • 2 lemons
  • 1 soup spoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2 to 1 coffee spoon freshly ground white pepper
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 2 quarts boiling water
  • 2 soups spoons potato starch
  • 4 soup spoons water for the starch paste
  1. Cut the chicken breasts in half along their length and remove any unpleasant tendons.
  2. Brown the chicken breasts lightly on both sides.
  3. Squeeze the lemons into the egg yolks. Zest the lemons and add the zest. Beat lightly.
  4. Put the chicken breasts in a saucepan, and add the boiling water and white pepper.
  5. Crush the thyme leaves with your fingers and add to the chicken stock.
  6. Cook on a low simmer for 20 minutes. You will get a light brown broth.
  7. Add the water to the potato starch a little at a time to make a smooth paste.
  8. Lower the heat even further and very slowly add the starch paste to the chicken broth while stirring rapidly.
  9. Bring to a boil and immediate reduce to a simmer.
  10. Lower the heat until it is very low and slip a heat diffuser under the pot.
  11. While stirring rapidly, slowly add the egg-lemon mixture.
  12. Allow to cook on the same very low heat for another 5 minutes.
  13. Serve immediately. If you serve with rice, pour some of the sauce on the rice also.
  14. I suspect that this dish is also good served cold. On the other hand, the sauce will curdle slightly if left standing for a few hours, even with no additional heat.



 
  
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