Almond-Crusted Chicken

I found this crusting recipe in an issue of Cuisine at Home. It was intended for fish, but as I don't eat a lot of fish, I thought it'd be super on chicken as well. This is Mediterranean inspired and it was really a delicious pairing of chicken and spices. I ate the first one hot from the oven. The subsequent chicken breasts, I cut up into strips and put them in salads for lunch. Yum! It added the protein I was looking for but also gave my salad a punch of some serious flavor. I used smoked paprika, as the recipe calls for, but you could use sweet paprika if you like that better. If you want to try this crusting on fish, the magazine recommends tilapia, halibut, catfish or any other white fish.

Almond-Crusted Chicken
Ingredients:

Pulse:
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley
1 tbs fresh thyme leaves
1 tbs olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste

Combine:
1 tbs smoked paprika
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
4 chicken breasts (or fish fillets)
Olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; coat with nonstick spray.

2. Pulse almonds, panko, parsley, thyme and 1 tbs olive oil in a food processor until nuts are coarsely chopped. Season mixture with salt and pepper.

3. Combine paprika, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet, sprinkle with paprika mixture, and brush with oil. Divide nut mixture among chicken breasts, pressing to adhere. Roast chicken until firm 20-25 minutes.