Panko Chicken Paillard

I love cooking things that allow me to get physical. If you've had a stressful week, you can let it all out by making this Panko Chicken Paillard for Sunday dinner.

I first cooked this recipe in a cooking class at L'Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, Maryland as part of a "team building activity"on a work retreat, where I learned the French technique "paillard" is essentially a piece of meat (chicken or veal, usually) that has been pounded flat. This is where the physical part comes in - you'll need a meat mallet for this recipe, or you can use a heavy, medium sized frying pan. It works just as well - as long as you are able to pound the meat thin. This helps it tenderize and also reduces its cooking time. Breading the chicken with Japanese style panko breadcrumbs creates a delicious crispy coating.

The end result: an opportunity to de-stress, followed by an easy, delicious meal.

To start, you'll need:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 2, sliced in half lengthwise, as I did above)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, whipped slightly with splash of milk
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• Salt and pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 or 2 lemons, halved
• 2 ounces Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated

Pound out the chicken with your object of choice on a cutting board, either in a large plastic bag or in between two layers of wax paper. Pound as thin as you can go without tearing meat. If you're having trouble getting it thin, try cutting the breast into two thinner pieces, via the side of the meat.

 You want it to look like this.

Prepare a breading station with three separate bowls containing flour, whisked eggs and milk, and panko crumbs. Season all with salt and pepper. 

Coat the chicken in flour...

Egg...

...and panko. 

Lay the coated chicken out on a flat tray and refrigerate to let the crust dry out for about 10 minutes.  This will ensure there is less moisture and less chance your coating will break when frying.

Heat the olive oil on medium high. You might need more than two tablespoons; just make sure the bottom of the pan is coated in it. Pop those puppies in when it's nice and hot. You want the chicken to sizzle immediately when it goes in the pan. If it doesn't, the oil needs to be hotter.

Depending on how thick the chicken is and how hot your oil is, let them cook for 2-4 minutes on each side. I flip them over when the underside is nice and golden brown like this.

When they're done, plate them, season with more salt if desired, squeeze each breast with the juice of half of a lemon, and top with shaved cheese. 

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Panko Chicken Paillard

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
• 1 cup all-purpose flour2 eggs, whipped slightly with splash of milk
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 lemons, halved
• 2 ounces shaved Parmesan

1.  Begin by pounding out the chicken breast gently between 2 pieces of plastic  wrap.  Pound as thin as you can go without tearing meat. If you're having trouble getting it thin, try cutting the breast into two thinner pieces, via the side of the meat.

2.  Prepare a breading station with three separate bowls containing flour, whisked eggs and milk, and panko crumbs.  Season all with salt and pepper.  Coat the breasts in flour, egg, then panko.  Lay the coated breasts out on a flat tray and refrigerate to let the crust dry out, about 10 minutes.  This will ensure there is less moisture and less chance your coating will break when frying.

3.  Bring olive oil to a simmer over medium-high heat in a frying pan.  Fry the breasts in hot oil for 2-3 minutes per side, depending on how thick the breasts are.  Drain well, season with salt, squeeze each breast with half of a lemon, and top with shaved Parmean.  Serve hot.