Roast Chicken Breasts with Roasted Red Pepper-Walnut Sauce (Muhummara)

By KDHarmon

Ingredients

• Muhummara:
• 1 1/2 cups raw, unsalted walnut halves
• 2 jarred roasted red bell peppers
• 2 tablespoons julienned sun dried tomatoes, stored in oil
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3/4 cup very roughly chopped parsley (leaves & soft stems)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (or 1 tablespoon honey)
• Juice and zest from a juicy lemon (about 1/4 cup juice, 1 tablespoon zest)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
• Chicken:
• 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1” thickness
• 3 tablespoons sunflower oil

Details

Adapted from today.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour walnuts onto a baking sheet, and pop into the oven for 10 minutes until slightly golden and fragrant. Remove from oven.

Muhummura
Drop roasted red bell peppers, walnuts, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, parsley, extra virgin olive oil, honey or pomegranate molasses, lemon juice & zest, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and red chile flakes into bowl of food processor. Pulse a few times, then process until mostly smooth but with a little texture similar to a Romesco sauce. Taste for seasoning. Spoon into a bowl for serving.

Chicken:
Pat dry with paper towels. The drier they are, the nicer a crust you’ll get on them!

Place a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, add sunflower oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the chicken breasts in one layer, without touching, and cook 1 minute. Flip the breasts carefully, smear each breast with a couple of teaspoons of Muhummara, then move pan into the oven. Roast 6-8 minutes until cooked through but tender (ie. a meat thermometer into the center of the chicken breast registers 160 degrees Fahrenheit). Serve with the rest of the Muhummara, and a squeeze of lemon.

Makes 4 servings.