Roast Chicken With Asparagus And Tahini Sauce

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 lbs asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/3 cup well-stirred tahini
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Recipe

• 1 put oven racks in middle and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450°f.
• 2 toss asparagus with 1 tbsp oil, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper in a 15 x 10 inch shallow baking pan. roast on bottom rack, shaking pan once or twice, until just tender, about 10 minutes.
• 3 meanwhile, pat chicken dry and sprinkle all over with 1/2 tsp salt and remaining 1/4 tsp pepper. heat remaining 2 tbsp oil in ovenproof skillet (not non-stick) over med-high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken, turning over once, until golden (about 6 minutes total).
• 4 transfer skillet to middle of oven and roast until just cooked through, about 5 minutes.
• 5 while chicken roasts, puree tahini, water, lemon juice, sugar, garlic, and remaining 1/2 tsp salt in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute. (add more water if sauce is too thick).
• 6 serve chicken and asparagus drizzled with some of the sauce and with remaining sauce on the side.