Maple Glazed Chicken with Parsnip Mash

On my visit back, I just couldn't get enough of the flavors that I truly missed. I discovered parsnips, I had heard so much about them, but here in Portugal they are rare to come by (actually there is only one place in the country that has the correct weather conditions to grow them). I almost brought some with me in my suitcase, but after a bit of supermarket hopping I finally found them, and so decided to work with them. The other flavor that I did bring back with me was maple syrup, I even bought a cookbook of Maple Syrup recipes. As today was a rainy day, why not bring some of the comfort to my day with flavors from home.

Ingredients for Chicken

4 chicken thighs

1/4 cup of maple syrup

1 tbsp. of butter

2 tsp. of lime juice

1 onion (optional)

sal, pepper, olive oil

Preparation

In a baking pan cover the bottom with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Rub the chicken in the oil preparation in the pan and with skin side down place in the oven at 200ºC for about 15 minutes. In the meantime prepare the glaze, in a small saucepan add the maple syrup, butter and lime juice and heat for a few minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and pour the glaze over the chicken. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes.

Ingredients for the Mash

500g of parsnips

1 tbsp. of butter

100 ml of cream or milk

salt,  nutmeg

Preparation

Place the parsnips in a pan and cover with water. Cook until parsnips are soft. Drain. Mash with the butter and milk. Season with salt and some nutmeg.