Chicken braised in almond milk and served with a sweet salsa makes for an Italian dish that is rich in flavour, but not too heavy. Enjoy alongside a bitter leaf salad and a glass of soft white – perfect for a summer dinner party.
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Ingredients
For the marinade
- 8 British free-range, bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 100ml olive oil
- 2 tsp ground mixed spice
- 2 tsp plain flour
For the date salsa
- 100g medjool dates
- 30ml olive oil
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
For the almond sauce
- 100ml light olive oil, plus a glug for browning
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 leek, trimmed and finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- Pinch saffron strands
- 400ml almond milk
- 20g flaked almonds, lightly toasted in a dry pan, to serve
- Handful fresh coriander, chopped, to serve
Method
- Put the chicken thighs in a large baking tray. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade and pour over the chicken. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight or for at least 2 hours.
- For the date salsa, remove the stones from the dates and roughly chop, then put into a small mixing bowl and mix with the olive oil and vinegar. Set aside.
- For the almond sauce, heat the 100ml oil in a large heavy-based saucepan or flameproof casserole over a medium heat and gently cook the onion, leek, carrot, garlic and bay leaves for 6-8 minutes until beginning to soften. Add the saffron and the almond milk, then cook until the volume is reduced by half (15-20 minutes). Set aside.
- Heat a glug of oil in a large frying pan (or 2 smaller pans) and brown the marinated chicken all over for 10-12 minutes. Add the chicken to the pan of almond sauce and simmer over a low heat for 1 hour until the chicken is cooked through.
- Carefully transfer the chicken thighs to a plate and keep warm, then put the sauce back over a medium heat and reduce until thickened (7-10 minutes). Return the chicken to the sauce and coat well. Serve on a warmed platter, garnished with the date salsa, toasted flaked almonds and chopped fresh coriander, alongside a bitter leaf salad.
Nutrition
- 750kcals Calories
- 55.2g (9g saturated) Fat
- 35.7g Protein
- 25.6g (21.5g sugars) Carbs
- 4.3g Fibre
- 0.5g Salt
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