Coat with the panko-macadamia mixture	Macadamia Nut-Crusted Chicken

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Macadamia Nut-Crusted Chicken

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 14, 2010

Yield: 4 servings

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Ingredients

• 1 (3.25-oz) jar macadamia nuts

• 2 cups panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)

• 4 (6-oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

• Freshly cracked black pepper

• Seasoned salt (such as Lawry's)

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 3 eggs

• 6 Tbsp olive oil, divided

• 1 cup Papaya Marmalade (see recipe)

• About 3 cups hot mashed potatoes

• 1 Tbsp black sesame seeds

• Sho Yu Cream Sauce (see recipe)

• Watercress

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Preparation

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place nuts in the work bowl of a food processor; pulse until evenly and finely chopped. Add panko; pulse a few times to combine.

Place chicken between sheets of plastic wrap; carefully pound chicken to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Season both sides of the chicken with pepper and seasoned salt to taste.

Place flour in a shallow dish. Lightly beat eggs in a second dish. Place prepared panko-macadamia mixture in a third dish.

Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess. Dip floured chicken into egg, then coat with the panko-macadamia mixture, pressing crumbs lightly to coat both sides. Place coated chicken in a single layer on a tray.

Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to a heavy-bottom sauté pan and place over medium-high heat. As soon as the oil heats just to the smoking point, carefully add 2 pieces of chicken to the pan and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until breading is golden brown, being careful not to burn. Place browned chicken on a cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining 3 tablespoons oil and remaining chicken.

Transfer chicken to oven. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked through and juices run clear when pierced with a fork.

To serve, spoon 4 dollops of Papaya Marmalade around each plate; garnish each dollop with a few black sesame seeds. Place about 3/4 cup mashed potatoes in the center of each plate; cut each chicken breast in half, and place atop the mashed potatoes. Drizzle 1/4 cup Sho Yu cream sauce over chicken. Garnish with a few stems of watercress or similar greens.

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Papaya Marmalade

• 1 ripe papaya

• 1/2 cup dry white wine

• 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks (1-inch pieces)

• 1 cup granulated sugar

If papaya is firm, peel with a vegetable peeler, cut in half and scrape out seeds. If papaya is very soft, cut in half, scrape out seeds and scoop flesh out of skin with a spoon. Chop flesh into 1-inch pieces.

Stir together papaya, wine, pineapple and sugar in a small, nonreactive saucepan (stainless steel, glass or enamel). Bring to a simmer over medium heat. (This should take about 15 minutes.) Using a pastry brush dipped into ice water, brush the sides of the pan twice during cooking to dissolve any sugar. Reduce heat; cook at a low simmer about 10 minutes more.

Remove pan from heat and purée fruit with an immersion blender. Alternately, cool to lukewarm and whirl in a blender or food processor until only small lumps of fruit remain. Scrape into a glass dish and refrigerate overnight.

Yield: About 2 cups; 8 servings

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Sho Yu Cream Sauce

• 2 cups heavy (whipping) cream

• 3 Tbsp Kikkoman soy sauce

Place cream in a heavy saucepan. Place over medium heat and simmer until reduced by almost half. Do not let cream boil over.

Add soy sauce. Simmer again; reduce sauce slightly, until it lightly coats the back of a wooden spoon. (A streak should be left behind if you wipe your finger across the back of the spoon.)

Yield: About 1 cup; 4 servings