Pistachio-crusted chicken with coconut-ginger-chili sauce

By Foodiewife

Want to eat like Oprah Winfrey? Art Smith, the talk show host's former personal chef, shares one of her favorite dishes that he originally created just for her: Pistachio-crusted chicken with coconut-chili-ginger sauce.

Art Smith is the executive chef and co-owner of Table Fifty-Two in Chicago and Art & Soul in Washington, D.C. In 1997, Smith became the personal chef to Oprah Winfrey, a position that lasted ten years. He is also a contributing editor to O, the Oprah Magazine, and the author of three award-winning cookbooks: “Back to the Table”; “Kitchen Life: Real Food for Real Families” and “Back to the Family.”

Ingredients

• INGREDIENTS
• Coconut-chili-ginger sauce
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 shallots, minced
• 2 blades lemongrass, chopped
• 3 (1/2-inch) pieces fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• 1 cup sweet white wine
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 2 tablespoons Chinese black bean chili sauce
• 1 (8-ounce) can coconut milk
• 1/2 cup (1stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Pistachio-crusted chicken
• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 quart buttermilk
• 1 pound salted pistachios, shelled and toasted
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh thyme
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Grapeseed oil to taste

Details

Adapted from today.msnbc.msn.com

Preparation

Step 1

For the sauce:
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add the tablespoon of butter, the shallots, lemongrass, ginger slices and wine. Reduce to half.

Add the broth, red curry paste and Chinese black bean chili sauce and reduce to half again.

Add the coconut milk and reduce to half a third time. Remove from the heat and whisk the bits of butter into the sauce until all the butter has been incorporated.

Season with salt and pepper. If you reheat, do not allow the sauce to boil or the butter will separate.

For the chicken:
Cut the chicken breasts in half. With a meat mallet, pound until 1/4-inch thick and place in a nonreactive bowl.

Pour the buttermilk over the chicken, cover, and let sit for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

In a food processor, place half of the pistachios, half of the Parmesan cheese, and half of the herbs. Pulse 5 or 6 times until the mixture is finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat this step with the rest of the pistachios and combine with the other pistachio mixture.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Place the flour in another bowl and season it with salt and pepper. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and prepare it for assembly.

Preheat a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-low heat with a thin coating of grapeseed oil.

Remove one breast, shake off any excess buttermilk and dust the breast with flour on each side. Dip only one side of the chicken back in the buttermilk and press pistachios onto that side. Repeat that step with all of the chicken.

Place the chicken in the sauté pan, pistachio side down, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn and cook the other side for 2 to 3 minutes.

Place in the oven to finish cooking for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove, let rest for 5 minutes and then slice to serve with the coconut-chili-ginger sauce.