You'll love this quick and easy to make chicken meal with its crispy almond crust on the outside and wonderful, tender meat on the inside. It's topped with a gorgeous tomato avocado salad that makes it a great meal to serve guests and family.
Tomato Avocado Salad:
1 T. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 T. minced fresh jalapeno
1 small shallot, minced
1 t. olive oil
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 large avocado, diced
salt and pepper, to taste
Chicken:
32 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 t. finely grated lime zest
1 T. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 T. tequila
1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
1/2 c. sliced almonds
1/4 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. salt
1 T. olive oil, divided
2 T. butter, divided
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
In a medium bowl, combine 1 T. lime juice with the jalapeno, shallot and oil. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the tomatoes and avocado; set aside; prepare the chicken.
Using a meat pounder, lightly flatten chicken breasts to make them the same thickness. In a large shallow dish, combine lime zest and lime juice with the tequila and garlic; add the breasts; turn to coat in the marinade; set aside for 10 minutes.
In a food processor, finely grind the almonds, not over-processing or nuts will form a paste; transfer to a large plate/platter; add cumin and salt; toss well.
Remove garlic from the chicken marinade. Pat the almond mixture on both sides of each piece of chicken to coat thoroughly.
In a large non-stick skillet, melt 1 T. butter in 1/2 T. olive oil over high heat; add 2 chicken breast halves; reduce heat to medium; cook until golden brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken; cook until browned and cooked through, 3 - 4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to plates; wipe out the skillet with paper towels. Repeat with remaining butter, oil and chicken.
Season the tomato-avocado salad with salt and pepper; spoon over the chicken.
Serve.
4 servings.