Recipe

July 24, 2020

Chicken Paillards With Endive-Parsley Salad

Recipe: Melissa Clark

“These quick-cooking chicken breasts are the staples of the weeknight kitchen: fast, easy and completely adaptable,” says The New York Times columnist and Dinner in French cookbook author Melissa Clark.

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 1⁄2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
  • 1 1⁄4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter, divided

Endive-Parsley Salad

  • 1 tbsp whole-grain mustard
  • 1 garlic clove, finely grated or minced
  • 1 1⁄2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1⁄4 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
  • 1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Pepper
  • 4 heads Belgian endive, leaves torn into bite-size pieces (about 6 cups)
  • 1 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Yield: Serves 4

Plan Ahead: You can marinate the chicken, covered, up to overnight in the fridge. The dressing will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container in the fridge. Bring the dressing to room temperature before serving.

Marinate Chicken

  1. Place chicken breast between two pieces of parchment paper and use mallet or rolling pin to pound to thickness of about a 1⁄2″. Repeat with remaining breasts. Season chicken breasts all over with sea salt and pepper.
  2. In bowl, combine lemon zest, sliced garlic and olive oil. Add chicken and toss to coat. Cover bowl and let chicken marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Prepare Salad

  1. In small bowl, whisk together mustard, garlic, lemon juice, sea salt and olive oil. Season with pepper and more salt, if needed.
  2. In medium bowl, toss together endive and parsley. Set aside.

Finish Chicken & Serve

  1. In large skillet over medium-high heat, melt half the butter. Add half the chicken breasts, including half the garlic slices, and cook until meat is golden brown and tender, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to warm serving plates and tent with foil to keep warm; repeat with remaining butter, chicken and garlic.
  2. Toss dressing with salad greens and serve salad with chicken and lemon wedges alongside.
Photographer:

Laura Edwards

Source:

Excerpted from Dinner in French by Melissa Clark. ©2020 by Melissa Clark. Photographs ©2020 Laura Edwards. Published in the U.S. by Clarkson Potter Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, New York. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.