Pistachio & Pepita Encrusted Chicken Bowl

Who doesn’t like a delicious and healthy chicken bowl? This nut encrusted chicken checks all my Whole30 boxes: flavorful, nutrient dense, and full of healthy fats.

I have a few little tricks to disclose before we get started…

I use high quality chicken. The factory farmed chicken that you find at most grocery stores often ends up dry and tasteless, no matter how you prepare it. When we used to live in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia (magical place and you should definitely visit, if you ever have the chance), we had a wonderful store at the top of the hill called Top of the Hill Market (imagine that). They sold meat directly from a local farm and the difference was unbelievable. If you have a local butcher, farm, or farmers market that sells fresh chicken, I would recommend trying their poultry. Now that we’ve moved, most of the time I have to rely on Whole Foods. Luckily, their chicken is quite good.

More chicken secrets…

I like to brine my chicken to ensure that it will retain its salty juiciness but you can get away without brining if you buy good quality chicken. Just be sure not to overcook. A kitchen thermometer is a good tool to have handy so that you avoid overcooking and drying out poultry, meat, or fish. The recommended safe temperature for chicken breast is 165 degrees F. If you do brine your chicken, try not to brine more than 30 minutes and use a 1 tbsp salt to 1 cup of water ratio. I usually fill a plastic ziplock bag with brine solution and set it in a large bowl to keep it upright. Be sure to add enough solution to fully cover the chicken with the brine solution.

For this recipe, I return to my chicken cutlet roots. First, I slice the breast in half lengthways and then place each cutlet in between plastic wrap. From there, I pound away with a meat tenderizer until the cutlet is the desired thickness and is evenly flat. Then I dry with a paper towel and set aside.

Wrong nuts…

Not to worry if you don’t have pistachios or pepitas. Just sub in your favorite nut. I like using pepitas (certain varieties of pumpkin seeds) in the autumn but no worries if you don’t have them. And no, regular jack-o-lantern seeds are not a pepita substitute.

And the plated fat is…

Romesco Sauce

No Crumb Left’s romesco sauce. You can find the recipe here.

I did tweak a few things in the original recipe to make it less pungent by subbing in garlic confit for plain garlic and changed the amount of cayenne pepper. But its pretty much the same sauce. Simply top the chicken with this sauce or toss it in with the greens.

If you are not keen on this sauce, you can substutute your favorite clean salad dressing, like Tessemae’s.

More additions…

For meal in the picture, I re-heated some roasted potatoes that I had leftover from dinner last night. I also added some sliced serrano peppers from the garden (our garden is still overflowing in peppers so I’m throwing them into everything!!). I like the added heat but you can omit the serranos if you don’t want the spiciness. Green beans would also be a lovely addition to this meal. Feel free to toss in your favorite veggies to add some nutritional benefits.

Hope you enjoy!!!