Easy Parmesan Chicken
Thin chicken cutlets in a Parmesan and herb crust, pan fried in butter and olive oil, then served over greens with a lemon dressing.
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Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts halved horizontally and pounded to 1/4 inch thick, 8 thin cutlets
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp garlic powder goes into the flour, most of it stays on the plate
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 1/4 cups seasoned Italian bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan finely grated, not shredded
- 1 tbsp fresh herbs such as thyme, parsley, chives or rosemary, finely chopped
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the lemon dressing and salad
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice about 2 lemons
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 8 cups baby salad greens
- shaved Parmesan for serving
Instructions
- Halve each chicken breast horizontally, then pound the pieces between two sheets of plastic wrap to 1/4 inch thick. Thin and even is what makes 2 to 3 minutes a side enough. Pat both sides dry with paper towel.
- Set up three plates. Flour with the garlic powder, salt and pepper on the first. Eggs beaten with the water on the second. Bread crumbs, Parmesan and chopped herbs on the third.
- Dredge a cutlet in the flour and shake off the excess, then the egg, letting the extra drip back, then the crumb mixture. Press the crumbs on with your palm so they hold. Keep one hand for the egg and the other for the two dry plates.
- Let the breaded cutlets rest on a rack or plate for 10 minutes if you have the time. The coating sets and far less of it lifts off in the pan.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat.
- Cook 2 or 3 cutlets at a time, 2 to 3 minutes per side, until deep golden and 165 degrees F in the thickest part. Do not crowd the pan and do not move them while they brown.
- Wipe the skillet with a folded paper towel between batches, then add the rest of the butter and oil and cook the remaining cutlets. Crumbs left behind from the first batch burn and make the second one taste bitter.
- Whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper together in a small bowl, or shake them in a jar, until the dressing thickens slightly.
- Toss the greens with just enough dressing to coat them. Put a cutlet on each plate, pile the salad on top and finish with shaved Parmesan. Serve straight away, the crust softens the longer it waits.
Notes
The chicken has to be thin. Halved and pounded to 1/4 inch, a cutlet cooks through in the same 2 to 3 minutes a side that browns the crust. A thick breast browns outside and stays raw in the middle. Shake the flour off before the egg. A thick layer of flour is the usual reason a crust slides off in one sheet. The garlic powder goes into the flour and most of that flour ends up back on the plate, so it seasons the chicken rather than taking it over. Wipe the skillet between batches. Loose crumbs from the first batch burn in the butter and the second batch picks up the taste. Breaded cutlets can wait uncovered in the fridge for up to 4 hours before they are fried. The dressing makes about 3/4 cup, more than the greens need. The rest keeps in a jar in the fridge for 5 days. Leftovers go back into a 350 degree F oven for about 10 minutes. A microwave turns the crust soft. No fresh herbs in the house is not a problem. Use 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning in the crumbs instead.