SERVES:

2

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium sweet potatoes (see procedure)

butter, salt and pepper for mashing potatoes

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

approx. 1/4 - 1/3 cup ground pecans

3-4 tsp Dijon mustard

2 Tbs vegetable oil for sauteing chicken

for the sauce:

1 Tbs butter

1 cup diced apple

2 - 3 Tbs apple cider vinegar

crack of black pepper

2 - 3 Tbs maple syrup (or substitute honey)

PROCEDURE:

Plan ahead and peel, gently boil, drain and mash the sweet potatoes with a little butter and salt and pepper and keep warm.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees if your chicken breasts are more than 3/4 - 1 inch thick so you can finish the chicken in the oven after browning the pecan nut crust.

Use a food processor to coarsely grind 1/4 - 1/3 cup pecans and spread those out on a large plate.

Spread a light layer of Dijon mustard over one side of each chicken breast and then press those firmly into the ground pecans mustard side down. (see hints)

Add a splash of vegetable oil to a large, heavy bottomed nonstick pan (oven proof if finishing in oven) on medium to medium high heat and, when the oil is hot, carefully add the chicken breasts ground pecan side down.

Stay with the chicken and cook it along for a minute or two, to brown the nuts, and then very carefully flip it over, turn the heat down a bit and finish cooking it through on the second sided.

(If the chicken breasts are on the thicker side, it's probably a good idea to finish cooking them in a 400 degree oven instead of on the stove top.) 

And then, once the chicken is cooked through, serve it alongside the mashed sweet potatoes.

Wipe out the pan, add a dollop of butter to the pan, add the diced apple, add a little splash of apple cider vinegar, a good crack of black pepper and a little maple syrup and let it cook along for a minute or two.

Spoon the pan sauce over the top to finish.

HINTS:

Add a little mustard from the jar to a small bowl before adding it to the chicken so there is no cross contamination with the spoon, the chicken and the jar. Discard any mustard in the bowl that you don't use.

To use less pecans, you can try sprinkling the ground pecans onto the chicken before pressing them into the meat. Otherwise, discard any leftover ground nuts on the plate after contact with the raw chicken.