June 20, 2017

Grilled Chicken Milanese, For Two!

To me, this is the perfect summer dinner.

It’s fresh, crisp, and completely bikini-friendly. It takes just 20 minutes to make. AND it’s all sorts of pretty, which is clearly the most important part.

Veal milanese is one of my favorite Italian dishes — lasagna and eggplant rollatini are #1 & #2 — but for home cooking, chicken milanese is a much easier task. Not only is veal expensive and politically incorrect (whoops) it’s also hard to find in high-quality cuts. So whenever I’m craving a milanese experience, chicken it is. And while I’m more than happy to pound it, bread it, and fry it like you traditionally would, for summer I like to mix things up. Which is why this grilled variation has no egg, no breadcrumbs, NO frying. Just pounded thin chicken breasts coated in a herbaceous olive oil, then grilled to char-marked perfection.

You start by using a meat hammer to pound boneless/skinless chicken breasts into thin, almost wispy sheets of meat. Now if you don’t own a meat hammer, buy one here (it’s seriously $8) OR ask your butcher to do it for you, which is also a reliable option. However you pound it, coat the chicken breasts in an olive oil marinade swimming with basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder, then grill!

The process is so embarrassingly easy, you could make it 3x a week.

The chicken barely needs 5 minutes to grill, so do a little prep before you get it on the grates. Like you’d expect from a classic milanese, this is served with a lightly dressed salad of arugula, grape tomatoes, and red onion on top. The dressing is a simple mix of olive oil, lemon juice, and sugar, so it couldn’t be easier. And the tomatoes + onion are similarly halved/sliced with ease, so all in all, this is the most straightforward, summery dinner of your LIFE.

Healthy eats seriously don’t get much better.

Once the chicken is grilled dress + toss the salad, spoon it over the chicken, and you’re done. A conservative sprinkling of parmesan goes a long way here, as does a petite side of spaghetti, because let’s live. Overall this is a meal you can be making every week ALL summer long, so go ahead and do it!

Your ice-cold rosé is waiting.

Grilled Chicken Milanese, For Two!

Yield: 2 servings

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 6 mins

Total Time: 21 Minutes

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

CHICKEN:
3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
a few pinches salt & pepper
SALAD:
2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
3/4 tsp granulated sugar
a pinch of salt & pepper
6 oz arugula lettuce
8 oz grapes tomatoes, halved
1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:

Pre-heat your outdoor grill to a medium-high flame.
Begin by prepping the salad. In a small mixing bowl combine the olive oil, lemon juice, sugar, and salt & pepper, whisking until well combined. In another mixing bowl combine the arugula, tomatoes, and red onion.
Grill the chicken. In a small mixing bowl combine the olive oil, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder, whisking well. Use a pastry brush to coat this marinade all over the chicken breasts on both sides, then season with salt and pepper. Transfer the chicken to the heated grill and grill for 2 – 3 minutes on either side until cooked through.
Meanwhile, pour the salad dressing over the salad, tossing well.
When ready, plate each chicken breast with an even distribution of salad on top. Sprinkle both plates with parmesan cheese, then eat!