Piñon-Crusted Chicken with Cherry-Chipotle Sauce

By Dunjab

Ingredients

• For the piñon-crusted chicken:
• 1 1/2 cups lightly toasted piñon (pine) nuts, coarsely chopped
• 2/3 cup bread crumbs
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs
• 8 chicken breasts, lightly pounded with a meat mallet
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• For the cherry-chipotle sauce:
• 1 cup canned Bing (dark) cherries, drained and rinsed or frozen Bing cherries, thawed
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup ruby Port
• 1 whole chipotle chili in adobo, rinsed

Preparation

Step 1

To prepare the chicken:
Preheat the oven to 200°F. Combine the piñon nuts, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, basil, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl and mix. Pour the flour into another shallow bowl. Beat the eggs in a third shallow bowl. Dip the chicken breasts first into the flour, then the beaten eggs and then the piñon mixture, making sure to coat each breast evenly. Heat the oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Carefully place the breaded chicken breasts into it in a single layer and cook for 4–5 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown and just done. Transfer to an oven-safe container, cover with foil and keep warm in the oven.

To prepare the cherry-chipotle sauce:
Combine the cherries, sugar, Port and chili in a small pan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Blend with an immersion blender until puréed and strain through a fine sieve into a bowl.

To serve:
Drizzle the warm sauce over the chicken