Friday, April 3, 2009

Something A Little Different

ETA: The pistachios I used for this were not infected. I had a few emails and comments about the recall of pistachios, but mine were not on the list. Besides that, I bought them 6 months ago and had them in the freezer, so they weren't even "current" produce. Click here to see the Pistachio Recall List.

I saw this the other day on Confections Of A Foodie Bride and knew instantly that it would be a part of my weekly meal planning. I still had shelled pistachios in the pantry from when I made Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti during the holidays. Which, coincidentally, is also a recipe from Foodie Bride.

I love pistachios and most nuts for that matter and the idea of coating succulent chicken breast in them made me happy. I've coated chicken tenders in pecans before and that was good, but I was looking for something different. And different it was. I asked my husband if he enjoyed dinner and he said "Yeah, it was different." I think he preferred the pecans over the pistachios :-)

Pistachio-Crusted Chicken Breasts adapted from Foodie Bride
  • 3/4 cup pistachios, shelled
  • Salt (if pistachios are unsalted)*
  • Ground black pepper
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Dash of garlic powder
  • 2 Chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness

Preheat oven to 425 F. Rough chop the pistachios until coarsely ground into small and medium-sized pieces or use your Slap Chop to make your life easier and less boring :-) Pour nuts onto a plate and season your chicken with salt, peppers and garlic powder.

Evenly coat chicken breasts by pressing them into the chopped nuts.Turn the breasts over and repeat. Carefully place breasts on a rack set in a baking sheet and bake until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, about 16-20 minutes. Allow to rest for about 5 minutes before cutting into.

*NOTE: Even after salting the nuts, and the chicken, I felt they still needed a little more seasoning. I think next time I'll add a bit more salt to the breasts before coating them and even try them with pecans.

I'll be MIA over the weekend. I'm taking a mini vacation and meeting a longtime blogging buddy for the first time. I can't wait!

See ya next week!

13 comments:

Mermaid Sews said...

Have a great trip, I just met a blogging buddy for the first time tonight - so much fun!

Selba said...

Wow... with pistachio, must be so yummy and crunchy.

Have a nice vacation :)

Verna said...

Looks good but watch your pistachios, they are having problems with some right now.

Just like the peanuts I guess some of them are tainted.

Will we have to grow all our own food to keep from getting poisons?

Have a great day.

Donna-FFW said...

Interesting way of coating them, sounds good and looks like a nice crispy topping.. OK have a nice time this weekend and like when are we meeting?

Sophie said...

They look yummy, the texture looks so crunchy! I can't wait to hear what they taste like with pecans! Oh, just the name of that nut makes me miss the lone star state even more! :)

vanillasugarblog said...

I love how you got all the goodies to stay on the chicken! Mine always fall off. Great texture indeed.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Have a great time!!! By the way it's really not fair that you photograph savory foods just as nicely as you do the sweet!
~ingrid

Erin said...

I absolutely want to give this a try. Maybe as a coating for stuffed chicken breasts? Great find! Thanks for sharing.

Lissaloo said...

Yummy, this sounds really good, hope your mini vaca is great! :)

Maria said...

what a great spring meal!

Ginger said...

That chicken looks so interesting. When I get back from Tampa (visiting my son in college) I am making this!! I will send you a photo if want. I have to know how meeting the longtime blogging buddy went!!

Elyse said...

These pistachio chicken breasts look fabulous! I'm so excited to have found your blog. I found it over at Dawn's site when she was raving about your blueberry and white chocolate scones. Well, she had me sold on your blog just from the mention of that recipe, but after checking out more of your site, I'm beyond sold!! Everything looks great. Can't wait to keep reading more!

RecipeGirl said...

Oh Wow, this looks really, really good! Love your blog :)

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