Thursday, July 30, 2009

Walnut Crusted Chicken with Apple Chutney

Walnut Crusted Chicken with Apple Chutney

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray

4 4-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons flax seed meal
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 cup whole-wheat panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, chopped into fine pieces
1 shallot minced, divided
1 and 1/4 cups apple juice, divided
2 apples, peeled, cored and diced
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup lentils
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon cloves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

To begin making the lentils, heat olive oil in a pan, add all but 2 tablespoons of the shallots, and cook until soft. Then bring 1 cup apple juice, 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, and 1/8 teaspoon of cloves to boil. Add lentils reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes, until liquid is absorbed.

Place chicken between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound to 1/2-inch thickness. Place flour and flax seed meal in a shallow dish, add chicken and turn to coat both sides. Coat chicken in egg mixture. Combine bread crumbs and walnuts. Press chicken into walnut mixture and turn to coat both sides. Place chicken on baking sheet lined with foil. Bake 15 minutes, making sure that chicken is cooked through.

While the chicken is in the oven, make the chutney. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of the shallots, cook 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup apple juice and the next three ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 10 minutes, until apples are broken down and mixture is thick (for a thicker mixture, mash apples at this point with a fork or potato masher).