Recipe - Tequila-Almond Chicken

4 Chicken breast halves
skinned and boned
One half teaspoon Lime zest, finely grated
2 tablespoon Lime juice
1 tablespoon Tequila
1 lg Garlic clove(s)
thinly cut or sliced up
One half cup Blanched whole almonds
(2 One half oz), chopped
One fourth teaspoon Ground cumin
Salt
1 tablespoon Fresh chile, minced
(poblano or jalape=A4o)
1 small Shallot, minced
1 tablespoon Plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
2 md Tomatoes, cored
cut into 1inch dice
1 Avocado
cut into 1inch dice
2 tablespoon Butter
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Using a meat pounder, lightly flatten the chicken breasts. In a large
shallow dish, combine the lime zest and 1 tbs of the lime juice with the
tequila and garlic. Add the chicken and turn to coat with the marinade; set
aside for 10 minutes.

2. In a food processor, finely grind the almonds. Do not overprocess or
the nuts will form a paste. Transfer to a large plate. Add the cumin and
=AB tsp salt and toss well.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 1 tbs lime juice with the chile,
shallot and 1 tsp olive oil. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the
tomatoes and avocado.

4. Remove the garlic slices from the chicken marinade. Pat the almond
mixture on both sides of each breast half to coat thoroughly.

5. In a large nonstick skillet, melt 1 tbs of the butter in =AB tbs of the
olive oil over high heat. Add 2 of the chicken breast halves, reduce the
heat to moderate and cook until golden brown on the bottom, about 5
minutes. Turn the chicken and cook until browned on the second side and
cooked through, 34 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to plates and wipe
out the skillet. Repeat with the remaining butter, oil and chicken. Season
the tomatoavocado salad with salt and pepper, spoon it over the chicken
and serve.

Food and Wine September 1995