Weekly Cooking Report May 2: Sumac Chicken Breasts

You remember when I asked you to pick up sumac for those chicken wings? Well, here's where that pays off. 

The recipe for this is so insanely easy I almost feel guilty for using it. The recipe for the chicken is here and you can see the shopping run is almost non-existent. 

2 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, the Sumac you have from last time I had you get some, some balsamic vinegar that you probably have in the kitchen, salt and pepper. For the rest of the meal it's our old friend couscous and some veggies. When I made it I went with broccoli, but I strongly recommend the ease of getting a bag of baby carrots and roasting them with this in a little olive oil. 

If your chicken breasts run big (and they will with todays breasts) you're going to want to slice them lengthwise before you cook them if you're using broccoli. That will make them cook a lot quicker, but it can be harder to get the thermometer in to track internal temp. If you're using the baby carrots, those take longer to roast so the timing works better. 

Rub the chicken down with the sumac and a little salt and pepper, then put in a container with the balsamic vinegar and let it marinade for an hour. Heat the oven to 375F. Just before cook time put 2 Tbs of olive oil and some salt over the baby carrots. 

Now you can put them all on the same sheet pan, but if you want the flavors separate put down some foil on the pan and fold it at the center to make a crude wall. Carrots on one side, chicken on the other. That will keep most of the process separated. 

Roast until the probe thermometer shows the chicken at temp. Once it is, take it out and check the carrots. If the fork doesn't go in cleanly, take the chicken off to rest, set the oven to 400, and chuck the carrots back in for 5 minutes or so. 

While this is happening, make the couscous from the box... yadda yadda you know the drill. 

The balsamic sumac is a unique and delicious taste. Serve to a grateful family.