Thursday, October 27, 2011

Perfecting The Paillard

Last night I made a recipe I saw in the New York Times; Chicken Scaloppine al Limone.

The key to this beautiful dish is perfecting the paillard; a french culinary term referring to a thinly sliced or pounded piece of meat. Most of us know it as a cutlet.

Chicken Scaloppine al Limone

THE INGREDIENTS
1 ½ pounds boneless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour, more as needed
1 ½ cups fresh bread crumbs, more as needed
3 eggs
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil, more as needed
¼ cup dry white wine
½ chicken or vegetable stock
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, more for garnish
Lemon wedges for serving

THE PROCESS
1. Heat the oven to 200. Slice each chicken breast open lay flat between two sheets of plastic wrap (I used freezer paper, waxed on one side). Using a meat pounder (or any heavy item) pound each piece to a ¼” thickness. When done, put a large skillet over medium-high for a minute or two and while it’s heating, salt and pepper the chicken and set up your flour and bread crumbs in individual shallow plates or bowls. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and set aside. Season the flour, bread crumbs and eggs with salt and pepper.

2. Add 1 tablespoon each of oil and butter to your skillet and swirl around - I never use the stated amounts when it comes to butter or olive oil, I just do it by eye. When it’s hot (a pinch of flour will sizzle in it) dredge a piece of chicken in the flour, then dip it in the eggs and then dredge in the bread crumbs. Add the chicken pieces to the pan. Cook the chicken, rotating occasionally and regulating the heat if necessary – you want it to sizzle, not burn. When the pieces are brown, turn over. If you want to use more than one pan, that’s fine – it’ll just make the process go faster.

3. Cook on the second side until the chicken is firm to the touch, about 2 minutes. Cut the center with a thin-bladed knife, it should be white or very slightly pink. Transfer the chicken onto a platter and put it in the oven. Wipe the pan out with a paper towel and repeat with the remaining chicken, adding more oil and butter as necessary until all pieces are cooked and transferred to the oven. When done, use a spatula to clean out the buttery chicken juices – set aside in a small bowl.
4. Add a tablespoon each of butter and oil to the pan and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of flour. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine and stir and scrape the bottom of the pan until the wine has reduced by about half. Add the stock and lemon juice and cook, stirring, until the mixture is slightly thickened and a bit syrupy, another 3 to 4 minutes.

6. Add another tablespoon of butter, the chicken juices from the small bowl you set aside and the ¼ cup of parsley. Stir until mixed, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, garnish with parsley and serve with lemon wedges (or a lemon twist, like I did!).



7. Enjoy!

I served the chicken with a side of Steamed Broccoli Florets and Garlic Sour Cream mashed potatoes. The lemony sauce was amaaaazing. Ed LOVED it, so this is definitely something I'll be making again!


Click HERE to get a copy of the recipe to print out.




3 comments:

Marlaina said...

looks deelish. i should have looked at your blog before i had a ta hotdog, salty, drowned in yellow mustard. ugg. my weekend priority is now a restaurant that serves salena-quality food.

Evil Pixie said...

Yum! Definitely going to have to try. :)

Get Best Info for Southeast Alaska Lodge said...

This dish was delicious. I served it with linguine and broccoli. Will use this recipe again!