Chicken in a Cream + Shallot Sauce

This recipe, like many others to come, was invented when I was running on grocery-budget-fumes.  It’s surprising what you can think up when you’re under pressure! Learning how to improvise takes a lot of trial and error, and sometimes you really need to know what flavors work together. But really, if you can think up a meal you’ve had in the past, you can often recreate it while making a few tweaks here and there! But sometimes, all you need is a good sauce (this is becoming my catch phrase). So with that in mind, this recipe will be a good front-runner for a post to come on making easy from-scratch sauces that barely cost a thing! Et voila:

 

2 chicken breasts (skin on or off is fine)
¼ lemon, zested

S+ P

Olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 shallot, sliced in thin rounds (or minced if you prefer smaller pieces)

1 Tbsp. capers

¼ lemon, zested

¾ c. stock (really, everything but beef works)

¼ c. cream

2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

1.Preheat oven to 400’. Season the chicken well with S+P and lemon zest. Sear in olive oil in an oven proof skillet until golden. Set aside in a bowl. Deglaze hot pan with ¼ cup of stock. Scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pan, and pour over the chicken.

2. Heat olive oil and gently cook the garlic and shallots until soft. Add capers and the rest of the lemon zest. Turn off the heat, and add the chicken and all liquid from the bowl.  Place in the middle of the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes.

3. Remove chicken from the pan and keep warm. Add the rest of the stock, cream, and parsley to the pan. Boil until the sauce has reduced slightly and is a little syrupy.

If using a serving dish, pour the sauce right over the chicken and garnish with more parsley, or serve the sauce in a gravy boat on the side.

I served this chicken with white rice I had cooked in more chicken stock with some herbs, and slow roasted tomatoes (olive oil, S+P, roast with the chicken).