National Pistachio Day | Pistachio-Crusted Chicken
Today is National Pistachio Day, and even though it’s the second one of the year (here is the first where I made an Herb Salad), I’m very excited to be celebrating again!
Pistachios are one of my favorite nuts and turns out they are pretty great on baked chicken. I remember when those red pistachios were more popular. When I was much younger, I ate these all the time and in fact, I thought the ones of today were totally weird. (If you’ve never seen or heard of red pistachios, just consult Google.)
Sometimes I do miss the dyed pistachio shells. It’s all about the nostalgia.
This was my first attempt at pistachio-crusted chicken, and I’m a converter. I love the salty/sweet taste of the pistachios and the method of cooking, paired with the oil from the nuts, kept the chicken so moist. I drizzled generously with fresh lemon juice. The more, the better!
- 4 chicken breasts, pounded thin
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup pistachios, removed from shell and finely copped
- Lemon juice
- Preheat oven to 375*F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Put each in three separate shallow bowls: flour, egg (beaten and mixed with honey), breadcrumbs mixed with pistachios.
- Season each side of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in the flour, then coat with egg mixture and finally, cover with pistachio mixture.
- Repeat with all chicken breasts and place all of them on baking sheet.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and pistachio crust is golden brown.
- Remove from oven and apply lemon juice, generously or to taste.
DID YOU KNOW: Originally, dye was applied to the shells by importers to hide the stains on the shells that resulted from the seeds being picked by hand.
Tomorrow: National Strawberry Day; National Kahlua Day
I like using ground nurs with chicken and pork. This looks really tasty.
Wow this looks really good! Pistachios you say? I really enjoy almond encrusted chicken but this sounds good too 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
http://neatly-packaged.blogspot.com/
This looks and sounds delicious! I ate my first pistachio a few years ago. Just always thought I wouldn’t like them. Then I tried one and I couldn’t stop eating them. Tried pistachio ice cream for the first time 2 years ago. Loved it! Pinning. #SGBC