We’ve been eating a lot more chicken lately, its lean, healthy, budget-friendly, and generally easy to prepare. One of the smartest ways to get a chicken on the table these days, especially for dual wage-earner families, is to buy a rotisserie chicken from your neighborhood grocery store. Our challenge though, is that Peter really hates dried out white meat and he’s not a big fan of left overs. Since there are only two of us most evenings, we can’t finish a whole chicken. That means that Laura has to work hard to reinvent the leftovers into something delicious.
One of our favorite preparations is this “Chicken in Lemon Sauce from Warsaw.” This was Peter’s Great-Grandfather’s favorite dish and for years it would always put him in a good mood. However, Great-Grandmother used it for that purpose a little too often because over time he became suspicious, expecting bad news to follow after each time he saw Chicken In Lemon Sauce on the table.
We love this recipe and not just for left-overs. Often we will roast our own chicken, or buy one, specifically to debone and let the pieces swim in this awesome, light & bright lemon sauce. We like to serve it over rice with fresh veggies and a salad on the side. Serves 6 One 3-pound chicken, cooked, skinned, de-boned, cut into pieces. 2 tablespoons soft butter 3 tablespoons flour 2 egg yolks, beaten 2 tablespoons cold water 1 ¾ cups of chicken broth 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon chopped dill Salt & pepper to taste.
Bring the broth to a boil. In a separate pan, mix the butter with the flour well. Stir in 5 tablespoons of the hot broth, one at a time. Add this mix back to rest of the boiling broth. Remove from the heat. Add the egg yolks beaten with the cold water. Stir in half of the lemon juice. Taste. The sauce should be bright and clearly lemony but not so tart that it puckers your lips. Add more lemon juice if desired. Sprinkle in the dill. Taste again. Season as needed but be careful with the salt since dill can add a salty back note to the sauce. Smacznego!
