Chicken in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

The only thing wrong with this dish is that there isn't enough sauce. Yes, that chicken in the picture is awash in sauce, but never mind; I would cheerfully have eaten twice as much. This is a good, good sauce is what I am saying.

I am also saying that the peppers can be roasted a day ahead, but in fact they can be frozen so you can make this dish all winter. That almost resigns me to the fact that there wasn't enough sauce...

4 servings
45 minutes to roast the peppers
30 minutes to make the sauce and cook the chicken

Roast the Peppers:
500 grams (1 pound) red Shepherd or Chervena Chushka peppers

Wash the peppers and roast them for 30 minutes under the broiler in a single layer, turning them once at the 15 minute mark, until regularly charred on each side. Put them in a container with a lid and let them cool, then peel them and remove and discard the cores and stems. This can be done up to a day ahead.

Make the Sauce:
2 shallots
4 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 tablespoon chopped pickled or fresh Jalapeño pepper
2 tablespoons sunflower seed oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup water or broth

Peel and roughly chop the shallots and garlic. Put them in a blender or food processor with the toasted pepitas. (If you purchased raw pepitas, toast them in a dry skillet, stirring frequently, until they begin to pop. Put them on a plate until cool.) Add the Jalapeño pepper, sunflower oil, salt, pepper, and vinegar. Process until quite smooth.

Remove the sauce to a dish or pot, and use the water or broth to swish out the blender or food processor. Add the water to the sauce. This could also be done up to a day ahead.

Cook the Chicken:
2 tablespoons sunflower seed oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
OR other single serving chicken pieces
(about 500 to 700 grams; or 1 to 1 1/2 pounds)

Heat the oil in a large skillet, and cook the chicken breasts over medium heat for 12 minutes; turn them at the 6 minute mark. (Bone-in chicken pieces will take pretty much twice as long to cook). When they are done, remove them to a serving plate (or individual plates) and pour the sauce into the pan. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until hot through and thickened. Spoon it over the chicken and serve.

This is a thick sauce and you will need a good rubber (silicone I guess actually these days) spatula for your sauce scraping and transferring needs.




Last year at this time I made Cooked Oatmeal Waffles.

Posted in: Ontario Food