I am not a professional recipe-namer. I repeat…
Parmesan, Herb & Chestnut Crusted Chicken Served over Farro with Apples and Craisins
And nutmeg. And red onions. AND HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE, Y’ALL.
I Â was given a challenge by McCormick. The spice people. They were all, “Hey. We want to send you 4 random ingredients and you make a recipe… OK?”
(So thanks to McCormick’s for sponsoring this post and helping me stretch a little in the recipe-creation department!)
I was all, “OK, McCormick! How hard can that be?”
And then I got the box and opened it and I saw farro… And then I went straight to the Google.
And then I pulled a bag of roasted chestnuts from the box I was all, “Uh…. Oh…”
My specific charge – create a recipe with nutmeg, farro, apples, and chestnuts.
And then I asked friends. And scoured the  internet. And had a recipe fail (#AppleCiderVinegarFAIL). And then the clouds parted. And now I believe the anxiety makes the win even sweeter because this little dish, my friends, is quite delish. Fairly, Thanksgiving-y… yet not. It’s light, yet hearty… Savory, and also sweet.
I WIN!
I adapted a my friend’s parmesan-herb-crusted recipe (Marissa of Pinch and Swirl – isn’t that the most charming blog name?!)…Â For the crust I combined parmesan, panko crumbs, and finely chopped chestnuts.
Before cooking:
(I made half with chestnuts, half without – kids can be so picky…)
And AFTER!
Admittedly, chestnuts are not a personal fave. However, I discovered in this recipe the crunchy texture the chestnuts gave to the tender chicken was quite delightful. Next time, I will chop the pieces more to a more fine texture. But not too fine.
For the cranberry sauce I followed the bag directions. Easy as cake. Err… cranberry sauce!
And for the farro SALAD, if you will. I cooked up some red onion in a little olive oil, added some diced apple and craisins, nutmeg and thyme, and then mixed it up and stirred in some chopped parsley. I love the how the thyme and nutmeg just do something right in this dish.
Pretty, yes?
Then I added the farro.
I spooned some of the Farro, Apple & Craisin Salad onto a plate. Then I sliced the chicken breast and placed the slices atop the salad.
I sounds so epicurious, don’t I…
The finishing touch was pouring a bit of cranberry sauce over the top of the chicken. Then I sprinkled a little more diced chestnuts on top.
The light-hint of nutmeg and thyme give a lovely flavor to the farro salad… Their flavors pair well with the sweetness of the cranberry sauce. The savory chicken against the sweetness hook-up like the cutest couple EVAR.
The flavors in this dish are reminiscent of Thanksgiving, so instead of chicken… turkey would be a great option. I think a pork chop would rock the socks off of this too.
If this dish wore socks.
It’s probably good this dish is not served with socks. But I digress…
Along that Thanksgiving thought… I’d compare the farro salad to traditional stuffing. Except it is MUCH healthier. The only fat is from the 1 tablespoon of olive oil in which I used to cook-up the fruit and onion.
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I’m curious… if you had received that package, what do you think you might have made?
