22 • May 19, 2022 - May 25, 2022
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
AmNews FOOD Make leftovers a luscious next-day meal Chicken paillard with mustard and caper sauce, crispy potato wedges, and baby gem salad with shallot vinaigrette (Kelly Torres photo)
Chicken Paillard with Mustard & Caper Sauce, Crispy Potato Wedges, and Baby Gem Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette By KELLY TORRES Special to the AmNews Yields 4 Ingredients for the potato wedges: 2 large russet potatoes 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Salt, to taste Ingredients for the chicken paillard: 4 chicken breasts, butterflied, pounded thin Salt & pepper, to taste Standard breading procedure: all purpose flour, 3 eggs, italian breadcrumbs (with 1 tsp creole spice mix & ½ tsp kosher salt) 2 cups canola oil for frying 1 lemon, cut in half
By KELLY TORRES Special to the AmNews This chicken paillard with mustard and caper sauce dish is great for turning any leftovers into a decadent chicken sandwich the very next day. Also to note, the potato wedges are absolutely no hassle to make: boil whole, cut into wedges, season, place in the oven and let a timer remind you when they’re ready! A baby gem salad provides great crunch, while the shallot vinaigrette adds a delicate touch to this meal. The winner here, however, is undoubtedly the chicken paillard. “Paillard” is a French term, known to the culinary world as a cooking technique that allows a piece of meat to be cooked quickly because it is pounded very thin. Cooking any piece of flattened protein quickly on high heat secures no loss of moisture, so whether it is veal, beef, or chicken, the paillard stays tender and juicy. In the late 19th century, approximately the 1880s, a French restaurateur named Paillard discovered that by cutting a piece of veal very thin, and then pounding it much thinner, it would essentially flash cook easily in a very hot pan. This creates highly sought after crispy edges, where all the flavor accumulates. Paillards have come in and out of fashion in the gastron-
omy world, and some people may even consider it retro. But whether it stays in trend or not, chicken paillards will stay relevant on my dining room table because it is a classic that stands the test of time. On the following day after making the chicken paillards, simply get your best bread for making sandwiches with the leftovers—I’m thinking ciabatta. Slice the bread open and toast the slices open faced in a hot oven until slightly golden. Slather the toasted slices with leftover mustard and caper sauce. Reheat the chicken paillards either in an oven or a microwave. Place the chicken on the bottom piece of bread. Trim the paillard, if necessary, to fit the shape of the bread. (Though an edge sticking out of the sandwich is not the end of the world; if anything, it’s more appealing!) Top the paillards with American cheese (or any other acidic cheese that is good for melting). While open faced, melt the cheese quickly in the already hot oven. Close the sandwich with the top bread piece. Cut in half and enjoy with any leftover potato wedges, or, if you ate them all, then just make sure you have a bag of potato chips on hand. If you’re one who needs some greenery in all of your meals, then yes, please tuck in some leftover baby gem lettuce leaves in your sandwich. This is what I call a two for one. Enjoy!
Ingredients for the mustard & caper sauce: 1 cup mayonnaise 1/3 cup dijon mustard Zest and juice of 1 lemon 3 garlic cloves, rough chop 2 tbsp capers, rough chop Salt and pepper, to taste Ingredients for the baby gem salad with shallot vinaigrette: Whole baby gem leaves, washed, patted dry ½ small shallot, minced 1 tbsp dijon mustard 2 tbsp lemon juice 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper to taste Instructions for the potato wedges: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Boil whole russet potatoes in enough water to cover the potatoes for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the boiled potatoes and, when cool enough to handle, cut into wedges lengthwise. One potato will create 8 wedges. Season the potato wedges with extra virgin olive oil and salt. Transfer to a parchment lined sheet tray. Roast in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, or
until golden brown. Turn the oven down to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep the potato wedges in the oven until they’re ready to serve. In the meantime, keep working on the other steps of this recipe.
completely in the flour, shake off excess flour. Step 2: Dip in the egg wash, making sure it is completely coated, shake off excess liquid. Step 3: Press the chicken into the breadcrumbs evenly, shake off excess breadInstructions for the chicken crumbs. paillard: Preheat the oven to 250 de- Instructions for the mustard grees Fahrenheit. & caper sauce: Butterfly each chicken Combine all the ingredients breast. into a food processor, except Place the butterflied chick- for the roughly chopped en breasts between two capers. Pulse until combined. pieces of plastic wrap on a Transfer the sauce to a bowl. cutting board. Using a kitch- Add the roughly chopped en mallet or a rolling pin, capers to the sauce, mix thorpound the chicken breast oughly. Season with salt and until it is very thin and even. pepper to taste. Set aside or keep It will spread out and appear in the fridge until ready to use. larger. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts. Instructions for the baby Season chicken breasts with gem salad with shallot vinsalt and pepper to taste on aigrette: both sides. Mix the shallots, dijon musBread the pounded and tard, and lemon juice in a butterflied chicken breasts bowl. using a standard breadIn a slow stream, add the ing procedure (see below). extra virgin olive oil and Place the breaded chicken stir vigorously with a whisk. breasts in the refrigerator Season with salt and pepper until ready to cook. to taste. When ready to cook, Add the baby gem lettuce to heat a large nonstick skil- the bowl and toss completely. let with 2 cups of canola oil Set aside. on medium high heat. When the oil is hot, shallow fry the Assembly: chicken paillards one at a Remove the potato wedges time, approximately 3 - 5 and the chicken paillards minutes per side. Transfer from the oven. Slice the the golden and crispy chick- chicken paillard into thin en paillards to the oven and strips, but keep together. On finish cooking until a digi- a serving plate, place potato tal thermometer reads 165 wedges on the bottom right degree Fahrenheit. Keep in of the plate. Add the baby the oven until ready to serve gem salad to the top half so that it stays warm. In the of the plate. Lay the chickmeantime, keep working on en paillard slices on the left the other steps of this recipe. side of the plate, slightly overlapping the salad and Standard breading proce- potato wedges. Spoon the dure: mustard and caper sauce Create a setup of 3 bowls. in a single line over the Fill the first bowl with flour, chicken paillards. Serve the second bowl with the egg extra sauce on the side in a wash, and the third bowl with small ramekin and place at the seasoned breadcrumbs the bottom of the plate, in (add the creole spice mix and between the paillard and the salt - see ingredients list). potato wedges. Garnish the Step 1: Dredge the chicken place with lemon. Enjoy!
