Chicken Angst

pail·lard (pī yär′; Fr pȧ yȧr′)
noun
a slice of meat, esp. veal or chicken, pounded until it is very thin and grilled quickly at high heat.

Chicken can get a bad rap sometimes. I know that once in a while, chicken can get boring, and it can even get tricky to cook. We’re so careful to make sure chicken is thoroughly cooked that sometimes we err on the side of overcooking. When I find myself getting into a rut, I pull this recipe out from my mental file cabinet. It usually does the trick.

Chicken Paillard with Prosciutto addresses all my chicken issues. First off, prosciutto tends to make everything a little more exciting — it’s that bling for poultry. When meat is pounded thin in the paillard style, that means it’s a uniform thickness, so all parts of the chicken will cook evenly and very quickly. It also breaks down the chicken so that it is nice and tender.

While your butcher will probably be more than happy to transform your chicken breasts into paillards, I prefer to do it myself. You don’t even need a proper meat pounder/tenderizer. I just use my handy (but very heavy) cast iron skillet. I let out all my chicken angst and channel my aggression into making nice, thin paillards.

I first made this recipe last year, after reading Mark Bitman’s Bitten Blog and watching his Minimalist podcast with guest Jamie Oliver. Jamie calls it Parmesan Chicken, but I think he left out the serious star, the prosciutto.

This is a simple supper that is quick to make, perfect for weeknights.

Chicken Paillard with Prosciutto

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts
Salt (not too much, the prosciutto is already salty)
Freshly ground black pepper
Lemon zest
Parmesan cheese
Herbs of your choice (Thyme works nicely. Today I happened to use cilantro because it's all I had that was fresh.)
Prosciutto
Salad greens
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:

When the paillards are cooked, slice and plate over fresh salad greens. Drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar and serve.

As seen on The Minimalist Podcast, January 7, 2009

by liren on March 25, 2010

18 Comments

« Previous Post

Nicole @ Making Good Choices — March 25, 2010 @ 5:48 pm (#
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This is definitely a recipe for someone who is bored with chicken! I love how you include so many pictures in your posts!
- Liren replied: — March 26th, 2010 @ 11:52 am
  
  Hi Nicole, I always feel a bit better about chicken after I make this. Making the paillards is better than kickboxing :) I’m glad you like the pictures!
Nasi Lemak Lover — March 25, 2010 @ 6:34 pm (#
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This look really good, must try this soon. Thanks for sharing.
- Liren replied: — March 26th, 2010 @ 11:53 am
  
  I hope you do!!
Donna - Dishy Goodness — March 25, 2010 @ 6:36 pm (#
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Liren — this looks gorgeous! And I like how you did the photo collage with instructions. Very helpful! Looking good, girl!
- Liren replied: — March 26th, 2010 @ 11:54 am
  
  Hi Donna, thank you! I go a little photo crazy, so at least the collage helps me organize and present it better :)
Jean — March 25, 2010 @ 7:55 pm (#
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All I can say is, “wow”! Can I come over for dinner? :-) Great photos.
- Liren replied: — March 26th, 2010 @ 11:55 am
  
  Thanks, Jean! One day, we’ll have to plan a Bay Area bloggers dinner! Wouldn’t that be fun?
Stella — March 26, 2010 @ 5:24 am (#
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Nice Liren, this looks wonderful. And it is so true about the drying of chicken breast in reference to overcooking due to fear as well as a lack of uniformity in the meat’s thickness. Next time i make chicken breast, I’m going to go Paillard Style!
- Liren replied: — March 26th, 2010 @ 11:56 am
  
  Stella, thank you! Definitely go Paillard Style — have fun with it!
Jenn — March 26, 2010 @ 5:45 pm (#
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Hahahaha… I can’t get over that you called prosciutto chicken’s “bling”. Right now I have this strange image of my head of a chicken (the kind you see in the grocery) pimped out with some lady chickens and lots of gold jewellry.
- kitchenworthy replied: — March 26th, 2010 @ 6:30 pm
  
  LOL, Jenn, you’re hilarious!!! I can picture it, too!
Crepes of Wrath — March 27, 2010 @ 2:50 pm (#
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My mouth is watering!
- Liren replied: — March 28th, 2010 @ 2:47 pm
  
  That means I’ve done my job :) So glad you stopped by!
Carrie — March 29, 2010 @ 6:21 am (#
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This sounds awesome! I don’t think you can go wrong with Parmesan and prosciutto. And gorgeous pic! It’s so colorful and looks so fresh and healthy.
- Liren replied: — March 29th, 2010 @ 10:16 pm
  
  Thank you, Carrie. You’re so right, you can’t go wrong with Parmesan and Prosciutto. They make such a great team!
denise @ quickies on the dinner table — March 31, 2010 @ 9:29 pm (#
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“Bling for poultry”? Hahaha! Nice one! How did I miss this?? Gorgeous recipe that really needs trying out ;)
- Liren replied: — April 1st, 2010 @ 10:46 am
  
  LOL, yeah, I like to pimp out my chicken with some prosciutto bling. Oh dear, did I really just say that?