Chicken with tomato and basil
Chicken with tomato and basil
Some 20+ years ago, while wandering through the streets of Rome with my family, we walked into a small ristorante for some lunch. I could not tell you the name or address of the place if my life depended on it. I can tell you that the food was great! Nothing fancy or complicated, relatively inexpensive and perfectly prepared. My family was well fed and I left with the basics of one of my 'go to' dishes that is 'rapido e semplice'. This dish always gets compliments and is easily prepared for serving a party crowd.
Ingredients
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 4 oz. cutlets, or just buy the cutlets if you don't like slicing breasts
1 cup good olive oil
4 eggs
1/4 dry measure cup grated pecorino romano cheese
2 tblsp chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
2 dry measure cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs (I like 4C brand)
2 pounds cherry or grape tomatoes
2 dry measure cups, pressed flat, fresh basil leaves, rinsed and dried
3/4 cup EVOO, preferably first cold pressed
salt, pepper and garlic salt
Directions
You will need two full sized baking sheets with sides. Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees. Divide the cup of olive oil between the two baking sheets. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Season the egg wash with the pecorino cheese, parsley, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper. Dip the cutlets individually in the seasoned egg wash, allow the excess to drip back into the egg bowl, then dredge the chicken through the bread crumbs so that they are generously coated with bread crumbs. Place the breaded cutlet in the baking sheet with the olive oil and repeat the process with the remaining cutlets. Do not crowd the chicken on the baking sheets. Two trays is plenty of room for 3 pounds of cutlets. Put both trays in the 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. At the halfway point, flip the cutlets, turn the trays and put them back for the last 10 minutes.
Rinse the cherry tomatoes thoroughly and slice each of them in half, I like north to south! Give the basil a good chop and then toss with the tomatoes. Once thoroughly mixed sprinkle with garlic salt and dress with that EVOO, 'the good stuff'. Serve the cutlets with a generous scoop of the tomato basil salad on top of the chicken. Scoop from the bottom of the bowl for EXTRA flavor!
If you prepare this dish ahead of time you must keep the chicken warm in a low temp oven, 180 degrees. Cover with foil so it does not dry out. If you make it hours in advance, you should refrigerate. Do NOT allow cooked chicken to sit out and cool to room temp for any length of time. This is risky and can be dangerous. The tomatoes and basil can be mixed ahead of time, cover and refrigerate. Do not dress with the garlic salt and EVOO until you are ready to serve. Any tomato basil salad not served on the chicken should be put in a serving dish on your table. If there are any leftovers, they keep well in the fridge for days if covered and sealed.
(serves 6)
A couple of options;
1. Substitute Veal cutlets instead of Chicken.
2. You may prefer to fry the cutlets instead of baking them. More work, more calories and great flavor!
3. A small red onion can be finely chopped and added to the tomato basil topping.
Buona Fortuna
