Parmesan Chicken with Quick Salsa Verde

Chicken Favourites, p. 50

3 eggs

30 g (1 cup) loosely packed basil

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and dried

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

285 ml (3/4 cup) olive oil

100 g (1 cup) dry breadcrumbs

4 chicken breast fillets

150 g (5 ½ oz) rocket (arugula) leaves

Lemon wedges, to serve

To make the salsa verde, put 1 egg in a saucepan of cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 1 minute. 

Poor lonely egg.

Remove from the heat and refresh under cold water. Peel, then place in a food processor with the basil, capers mustard and 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese, and blend until combined. 

I was worried when I looked in the blender and saw this. But everything got mixed up quite nicely!

Gradually add 60 ml (1/4 cup) of the olive oil and process until you have a coarse sauce, taking care not to overmix.

What a pretty green!

Beat the remaining eggs together with 1 tablespoon water. Combine the breadcrumbs with the remaining Parmesan on a plate. Pound each chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap with a mallet or rolling pin until 5 mm (1/4 inch) thick. 

Pound it. Hard. (No, seriously, you want this to be as flat as possible so it'll cook faster.)

Dip the chicken in the egg mixture, then coat in the breadcrumb mixture. 

Be generous. There' s more than enough to go around.

Place on a paper-lined baking tray and refrigerate for 10 minutes, or until needed.

Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over high heat. Cook the chicken breasts in batches for 2-3 minutes each batch, or until golden on both sides and cooked through—keep warm between batches. 

This one took a little longer because I didn't get it quite as flat.

Serve with the salsa verde, rocket leaves and lemon wedges. 

But in the end, tender and juicy justice was upheld. 

My Rating: 4/5 "The sauce is fantastic - mellow and herbal with eggy undertones. The chicken is also flavorful and has great texture, especially after all that pounding. This looks pretty on the plate as well, so it's a nice 'I need to impress people' recipe."