Chicken with Avocado

8 small chicken fillets 1 large ripe avocado 1 tbsp lemon juice salt, pepper 2 tbsps oil 2 tbsps ground hazelnuts Sauce 15 g butter 2 tsp oil 1 stick celery 1 small onion 1/2 tsp thyme 2 tbsps dry sherry 30 g extra butter 1 tbsp flour 1 beef stock cube 1 cup hot water 1 tomato salt, pepper 1/2 cup dry white wine 1/2 cup cream

Heat oil in pan, fry chicken fillets on both sides until lightly browned and cooked in the centre; drain on absorbent towels. Peel avocado, cut in half and remove stone. Mash flesh with fork, add lemon juice, season with salt and pepper. Spread avocado over top of each piece of chicken. Sprinkle hazelnutson top of avocado. Place chicken on oven tray and bake in moderate oven for 5 minutes. Spoon sauce over. Sauce Heat butter and oil in saucepan, add peeled and chopped carrot, chopped celery, peeled and chopped onion, thyme, peeled and chopped tomato and sherry. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer covered, until vegetables are tender. Puree in blender or push through sieve. In separate saucepan, melt extra butter, add flour and cook 1 in. Add crumbled stock cube, water and vegetable puree. Stir until sauce boils, reduce heat, add wine and cream, salt and pepper, reheat gently.

I love the flavor of this chicken. As usual though I mash more than one avocado otherwise there is very little for each piece. I also make 1.5 times the recipe for the sauce....and at times I doubled it......recipes never seem to make enough for the way we like to eat....