Romesco Chicken Thighs with Pesto {GF, DF}

This holiday broiled romesco chicken with pesto is ready in 30 minutes and full of holiday cheer from the vibrant green basil pesto and the red roasted pepper romesco sauce. Both gluten free and dairy free. Perfect for holiday entertaining. 

I love the Christmas holiday season. The Christmas trees, the decorations, sparkling lights, all sorts of red and green ribbons, toys, bows, everything, I just love it. Can’t think of more jolly colors than green and red.

And for the first time in four years (FOUR years) I am home in Massachusetts with my family around Christmas time. The last 3 Decembers I’ve either been gallivanting around the globe or driving across the country, so it’s been a while since I’ve been able to really enjoy the Christmas spirit in the comfort of familiar surroundings. Last weekend I even decorated the Christmas tree with my mom, another activity I have not been able to partake in since 2011.

With Christmas a week away I am sure everyone has got holiday entertaining on the mind. Since you know I love to cook, and be surrounded by people, you can certainly bet I’ve got some good holiday entertaining recipes to share. First things first.

Drinks.

Holiday cocktail anyone? I’ve got the perfect red and green sparkling wine fizz for you. Made with a squeeze of lime juice, a lime slice, spoonful of slivered mint and a spoonful of pomegranate arils. All to be topped off with Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs – a sparkling wine made with pinot noir and chardonnay grapes that is light and crisp. This is the perfect holiday drink to serve to your guests while you are still whipping up dinner, setting up the table or just entertaining.

When drinks taken care of, we can now focus on a holiday themed dinner meal. I am currently obsessed with romesco sauce. Have you ever made it before? It’s made with roasted red peppers, which I also just recently started making for the first time myself and the sauce is a mix of the peppers, almonds, vinegar, paprika, oil, garlic, and with my own spin on it, tahini.

It’s pretty much the best sauce, dip, spread, ever so expect to see a lot more of that around here. Since that covers the red component of a holiday dinner I needed a green one. Vegan basil pesto always has me covered. Since around the holidays everyone seems to be running around with their heads chopped off, getting last minute holiday shopping done, running errands, sitting in traffic, preparing for the winter, etc, quick meals are a necessity.

This holiday broiled romesco chicken with pesto sauce is ready in 30 minutes.

You can use either skinless boneless chicken thighs or skin in bone on ones. I opted for the latter to get even more flavor out of this dish. I love to cook with the broiler because the oven heats up almost instantly and the top of the dish, in this case the chicken skin, get’s a nice crispy char on top. In this recipe you just rub salt and paprika over the chicken, lightly separating the skin from the flesh. Then you spread the pesto under the chicken skin, to that is seeps right into the chicken flesh and set it under the broiler.

I like to broil on high but on a low oven shelf for the first 10 minutes, then moving the oven shelf up to crisp up the skin without burning it for the last 10 minutes. You’ll have to play around with your oven shelves and broiler to how you like it. While the chicken is cooking you have time to quickly whip up the romesco sauce in your food processor.

And what’s the holiday drink to serve with the romesco chicken? Red wine of course.

I have only recently become a red wine drinker but I now love it. It is rich, deep, fragrant, flavorful. Especially this Gloria Ferrer Pinot Noir. This is simply an exquisite wine. Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards is Carneros’ original sparkling wine house, owned and founded by the Ferrer family of Spain. The winery opened in 1986 in Sonoma County, California. The wines wines have earned over 400 gold medals and 50 90+ scores in the last 5 years – which won’t be hard to believe once you try both the red and sparkling. I was seriously impressed with the Pinot Noir and found that it paired perfectly with this holiday broiled romesco chicken recipe.

Serve this to your guests for a holiday themed meal and they won’t be disappointed!

Love broiled chicken and looking for more recipes?

Check out my:

• Broiled Chicken Thighs with Artichoke Hearts and Feta {GF}
• Broiled Paprika Garlic Chicken Thighs {GF, DF}
• Broiled Pesto Chicken Thighs with Mushroom and Zucchini {GF, DF}

Please let me know what you think of my broiled romesco chicken thighs recipe in the comments below!

5 from 1 vote

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Holiday Broiled Romesco Chicken with Pesto {GF, DF}

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

This holiday broiled romesco chicken thighs with pesto  is ready in 30 minutes and full of holiday cheer from the vibrant green pesto and the red roasted red pepper romesco sauce. Both gluten free and dairy free. Perfect for holiday entertaining.

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Healthy

Servings: 4

Calories: 413 kcal

Author: Vicky Berman

Ingredients

• 4 bone in skin on, chicken thighs (about 1.6 pounds) (can also use bonesless skinless chicken thighs instead)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup vegan basil pesto
• For the Romesco Sauce:
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 small clove garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• for garnish : slivered basil and thinly sliced roasted red peppers

Instructions

1. Rinse and pat dry the chicken thighs with paper towels. Using a knife or your fingers carefully separate the skin from the flesh, so that a pocket remains between the two.
2. Rub salt and paprika all over the chicken, both into the flesh and the skin.
3. Spread pesto evenly among the 4 chicken thighs, rubbing it under the skin, onto the flesh.
4. Broil on high for 20 minutes (10 minutes on a lower oven shelf, and 10 minutes on a higher oven shelf to crisp up the skin). Cook for additional 5 minutes if needed, or until chicken is cooked through.
5. To make the romesco sauce pulse almonds in food processor until they resemble fine crumbs. Add remaining ingredients, roasted red peppers, apple cider vinegar, garlic, olive, oil, tahini, smoked paprika and salt. Process until almost smooth.
6. Serve chicken topped with a dollop of romesco sauce with sliced roasted red pepper and basil for garnish.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.