Romesco chicken bake recipe

Method

1. Preheat your oven to gas 7, 220°C, fan 200°C. Put the pepper on a baking tray and bake for 30 mins until the skin is blistered and charred. Leave to cool before peeling off the skin and removing the stem and seeds. Set aside.
2. Put the almonds in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and lightly toast for a few mins until fragrant. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
3. To make the romesco sauce, place the roasted pepper, almonds, garlic, passata, vinegar, smoked paprika, crushed chillies, parsley and 25ml olive oil in a food processor until you have a coarse paste. Set aside.
4. Sandwich each chicken breast between 2 sheets of clingfilm. Using a rolling pin, flatten each chicken breast until it’s an even thickness all over.
5. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large nonstick pan and fry the chicken breasts for 4 mins on each side until golden – they don’t have to be cooked all the way through at this point – then transfer to a baking tray.
6. Spread half the romesco sauce on top of the chicken breasts. Scatter some of the breadcrumbs over each and drizzle with remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Cook for 20 mins until the breadcrumbs are golden and the chicken is cooked through.
7. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the broccoli for 4 mins until tender.
8. Serve the chicken with the remaining sauce spooned over, a scattering of parsley and the broccoli alongside, plus lemon wedges for squeezing over, if using.

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