Grilled Chicken Breasts with Sunflower-Cilantro Sauce

° Serves 6

If you cannot cook the chicken on a grill (which gives it a distinctive taste), cook the breasts in a cast-iron skillet over very high heat for approximately the same length of time.

The recipe yields about 2 cups Sunflower-Cilantro Sauce, so you will have leftovers. It can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. It is spicy and invigorating and goes well not only with the chicken breasts, but also with leftover beef, veal, pork, or lamb roasts; fish (poached, steamed, or grilled); and grilled scallops or shrimp.

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 6 ounces each)
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
• Sauce
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• 1 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• ⅓ cup sunflower seeds
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup virgin olive oil
• ¾ cup water
• 3 ripe tomatoes (about 1 pound total), thinly sliced

Sprinkle the chicken breasts with the salt, pepper, and oregano, then coat with the olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or as long as 8 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: Halve the jalapeño, remove the seeds, and cut the pepper into a few pieces. Place the jalapeño pieces, parsley, cilantro, garlic, sunflower seeds, salt, olive oil, and water in a blender and blend until pureed to a smooth green liquid. Transfer to a bowl.

At serving time, heat a charcoal or gas grill until very hot. Remove the chicken breasts from the refrigerator and place them on the hot grill. Cover and cook for about 2½ minutes on each side, until the chicken is well marked. Move it to a cooler place on the grill, or transfer it to a baking dish and keep warm in a 150-degree oven.

Arrange a few spoonfuls of the sauce on each of six plates and top with the grilled chicken breasts. Garnish with tomato slices arranged attractively around the border and serve.

You can prepare the sauce and season the chicken ahead of time, with the grilling done at the last minute.