I love this recipe for ‘Chicken in Pistachio, Sumac and Sesame Crumbs’ from the cookbook ‘Turquoise, a Chef’s travels in Turkey‘ by Greg and Lucy Malouf.  It’s easy, exotic sounding and tastes great.  The sesame seeds and pistachios add a delightful crunch, the lemon zest and sumac add a bright lemon-y note that is tempered by the richness of the parmesan cheese. Leftovers keep well and this chicken is great the second day in a pita sandwich with a little yogurt dressing, sprouts and shredded carrots. Chicken is the workhorse of the carnivore world.  It’s easy to eat, a good source of protein, and inoffensive.  At its best it is tender, juicy and moist. At it’s worst, dry, tough and tasteless.  Boneless, skinless chicken breasts can get more than a little boring if you eat them frequently—and I am constantly looking for new ways to dress them up.  The breading on this chicken ensures that it stays nice and moist.  The recipe has a couple of steps you need to take to ensure success. The first is to pound the chicken breast to an even thickness so that it cooks evenly, use fresh bread crumbs and don’t chop the pistachios too finely.

Chicken in pistachio, sumac and sesame crumbs

4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 6 oz each, pounded to an even thickness

2 eggs

Salt and Pepper

All purpose flour

Olive Oil

Lemon Wedges to serve (optional)

Pistachio Crumbs

2 slices of sandwich bread, crust removed, torn into pieces

1 Tbsp. ground sumac (if sumac is unavailable, substitute the zest of ½ a lemon in addition to .)

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

¼ c. unsalted, shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped

¼ cup of sesame seeds

2/3 cup finely grated parmesan

To make the crumbs, put the bread into a food processor with the sumac, zest and pistachios and pulse briefly.  Add the sesame seeds and parmesan and pulse briefly to combine.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

When ready to cook the chicken, lightly beat the eggs with a little water in a shallow bowl to make an egg wash.  Set up a production line of seasoned flour, egg wash and crumb mix. First dip the chicken pieces into the flour, then the egg wash and finally the crumb mix, patting them carefully all over

Heat the oil in a saute pan and saute the chicken pieces until golden brown all over.  Transfer to a cookie tray and cook for 8-10 minutes in the center of the oven.  Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes before serving with wedges of lemon.

Serves 4