Taking Chicken Milanese beyond comfort food

A few weeks ago at a catering event, a few diners said my Chicken Milanese was the best they ever had. I was pleasantly surprised because I often considered this dish as an easy comfort food and did not develop it to its true potential. So I played around with the recipe for a few weeks and ended up with this version.

The original recipe comes from central Europe, from which both Cotoletta alla Milanese and the Austrian/German schnitzel made their way to South and North America. What is called Milanese is often a thin slice of beef, veal or chicken dipped in beaten eggs, flour and bread crumbs and pan fried.

I skipped the flour part and made the bread crumb mixture a bit more flavorful by adding herbs de Provence.

The honey mustard sauce is an ideal accompaniment, and I suggest a light squeeze of Meyer lemon juice to enhance the finish.

CHICKEN MILANESE

4 small- to medium-size boneless, skinless chicken breasts (preferably free range, organic)

4 farm-fresh eggs

Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

4 cups Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

1⁄2 cup herbs de Provence (dried basil, lavender, thyme and Greek oregano)

10 ounces butter, cut into thin slices

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cut each chicken breast in half and trim away any undesired fat. You are going to pound the breast portions, so prepare a wood or plastic cutting board by resting it on a thick napkin or small towel (to absorb the pressure).

Lay the chicken breast portions on the cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. (I prefer to use zip-close bags over the chicken because they are thick and do not break.) Pound gently with a meat tenderizer mallet until the breasts are evenly flat.

Break the eggs into a mixing bowl; season with some salt and pepper and mix well.

In a medium bowl, blend together the Panko and herbs de Provence.

Season the pounded breasts with salt and pepper. Dip them one at a time in the egg mixture and let the excess drip off, then coat the dipped breast portions evenly on both sides in the bread crumb mixture.

On a baking pan, place a slice of butter under each breaded chicken breast and a slice of butter on top of each breaded chicken breast. Bake for 15 minutes; turn over and bake until a light golden brown.

Mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley make ideal accompaniments. Serve warm with a drizzle of honey mustard sauce (recipe follows).

HONEY MUSTARD SAUCE

1⁄2 cup Dijon mustard

1⁄2 cup whole-grain mustard

1⁄2 cup honey (I prefer blackberry honey from the produce store on Highway 20 between Marysville and Browns Valley)

1 cup hot water

1 cup heavy cream

Preparation

In a saucepan, mix all the ingredients together until well blended. Cook over low heat for 20 minutes.

Salim Ben Mami is head chef and owner of Café Collage restaurant in Oregon House, Calif. Contact him at 530-692-2555 or ccollage@succeed.net. His website is cafecollage.net.