Sautéed Chicken Paillards with Herb Salad & White Balsamic Vinaigrette

Serves 4

To learn more, read:
Not your ordinary chicken dinner
by Adam Ried
from Fine Cooking
Issue 92
Last Edit Date: 4/25/2012 10:27:07 AM

Elevate your chicken sautée tonight with a recipe that embraces spring (hello, fresh, tender herbs!) and incorporates a simple, tangy vinaigrette. For the vinaigrette, use a pure or light variety of olive oil, both of which are milder than more full-flavored extra-virgin olive oils. You want the olive oil to serve as a backdrop to the vinegar and not a strong flavor in and of itself.

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1 Tbs. white balsamic vinegar
1-1/2 tsp. white-wine or cider vinegar
One-half small shallot, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. olive oil; more as needed
8 boneless, skinless, thin-cut (1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick) chicken breast cutlets (1-1/2 to 1-3/4 lb.)
5 cups mixed baby greens
3 cups mixed fresh, tender herb leaves, such as flat-leaf parsley, mint, chives, tarragon, basil, and chervil, roughly torn if large

In a small bowl, mix both vinegars with the shallot, mustard, and 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in 3 Tbs. of the oil.

Season the chicken on both sides with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Heat the remaining 2 tsp. oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Working in two to three batches to avoid crowding, cook the chicken until lightly browned on both sides and just cooked through, 1 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer each batch to a platter, cover loosely with foil, and keep warm. If the pan seems dry at any point, add 2 more tsp. of oil.

Combine the greens and herbs in a large bowl. Add about three-quarters of the vinaigrette and toss well. To serve, arrange two cutlets on each serving plate and drizzle the remaining dressing over the chicken. Divide the herb salad among the four plates, piling it attractively onto the chicken.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with rice or herby Mashed Parsnips with Lemon on the side.

nutrition information (per serving):
Calories (kcal): 320; Fat (g): 17; Fat Calories (kcal): 150; Saturated Fat (g): 3; Protein (g): 37; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 10; Carbohydrates (g): 6; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 2.5; Sodium (mg): 470; Cholesterol (mg): 95; Fiber (g): 3;

Photo: Scott Phillips

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by matthew74, 1/1/2011Simple, delicious and healthy. A great light summer meal.

by RebaCooks, 4/7/2010We love this recipe and have made it many times with great results! It is great for a quick, healthy weeknight meal.

by Jason123, 9/21/2009This is so simple and so tasty. I serve it with medium diced roasted butternut squash. Delicious.

by Puce, 1/15/2009My husband and I tried this recipe tonight and it was EXCELLENT. We slightly breaded the chicken with flour, salt and pepper, which made the chicken nice and crispy. I have not added olive oil to the vinaigrette (if you like food that has character without adding any fat substance, try the vinaigrette without the olive oil). With respect to my herb mix, I used basil, flat leaf parsley, tarragon and cilantro. I added it to wild baby arugula that has a peppery taste that married nicely to our herb mix.

by WarmHen, 6/4/2008Lovely salad! I used a mix of tarragon, basil, mint, broccoli micro greens in addition to the baby lettuce mix. It's a perfect light summer supper. Next time, I will add shaved parmesean to the top of the herb salad.

by anhorton, 4/14/2008This recipe was absolutely delicious. I used a bag of mixed baby greens from the grocery store and eyeballed the addional herbs. I ended up using arugala, basil and mint. I didn't have any light olive oil on hand, so I just used safflower oil. The vinagrette was fantastic! It turned out to be a great way to kick off my spring diet. The recipe is light, refreshing and satisfying!