Chicken Milanese is my favorite of all my dishes. The idea of warm chicken on top of a cool, crisp green salad, lightly dressed with lemon juice and olive oil and shaved pieces of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, makes me well. CRAZY! 

Chicken Milanese is a breaded chicken cutlet that has been shallow-fried in olive oil. My grandmother had her method; she would dip the chicken breasts in beaten eggs that had been seasoned, and then the chicken would be dredged in Italian bread crumbs.  I’ve updated that a bit.

To make the best fried chicken, the chicken should be marinated in buttermilk for a couple of hours or overnight, as a first step. It tenderizes the chicken, and then, of course, a flour or breading would follow.  I’ve decided to use a seasoned Greek yogurt as a first step, then follow that up with the breading. It makes the chicken so tender, and the spices permeate the meat. Then I follow up with the breading.

I’m a big fan of grilled chicken on top of a Caesar salad, so that gave me this idea! I’m using my favorite brand of creamy chicken Caesar dressing as a marinade for my Chicken Milanese. The spices are already in the dressing, and I love the flavor of a Caesar dressing. This will make a great marinade and tenderizer for the chicken cutlets.

This is my Chicken Milanese-updated.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: Minimum 2 hours
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Cook Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
Yields: 6-8 servings
Equipment: large baking sheet pan with a wire rack, 1 (12-inch) sauté pan, 1 large mixing bowl, vegetable peeler, 1 meat-safe cutting board, chef’s knife, cutting board

Ingredients for the Chicken Milanese:
1/2 cup olive oil (add more olive oil to the pan as needed)
1 pound of chicken cutlets (thinly sliced chicken breasts)
1 (16-ounce) bottle of creamy Caesar dressing
1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper, freshly-ground
2 1/2 cups of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 cup of fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, (substitute 2 tablespoons of dried)

Ingredients for the Mixed Greens Salad:
2 packages of prewashed mixed greens
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved
4 tablespoons of fresh-squeezed lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
8 tablespoons of *E.V.O.O.
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:
In a large bowl, marinate chicken cutlets in a mixture of Creamy Caesar dressing, Kosher salt, fresh-ground black pepper, and 1/4 cup of finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line the baking sheet with foil and spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray.

Remove the chicken from the fridge. Pour the breadcrumbs into a large bowl with 1/4 of finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley, and toss to combine. Dredge each cutlet, shaking off the excess Caesar dressing, into the breadcrumbs, shaking off the excess breadcrumbs. Once they’re all breaded, set them onto the baking sheet pan fitted with a rack.

Preheat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Carefully add the 1/2 cup of olive oil to start, tilting the pan away from you. You want the bottom of the pan to be covered in oil. Once the oil has reached the proper temperature (you can test this by submerging the handle of a wooden spoon into the oil, and if bubbles surround the tip of the handle, the oil is ready), carefully add the breaded chicken to the pan. Don’t overcrowd the pan. You may have to do this shallow-frying in batches and possibly add more olive oil as needed. Pan-fry for about 2-3 minutes per side, just enough to get a golden brown color on both sides.

Transfer golden brown cutlets back onto the baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Transfer the chicken to the oven and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through with an internal temperature of 165°F.

To serve:
Divide the mixed greens onto 4 salad plates. Squeeze about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice over each salad. Drizzle each with a couple of tablespoons of *E.V.O.O. Sprinkle each salad with Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Using a potato peeler, add a few shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano over each salad. Top each of the cold crisp salads with 2 of the hot pieces of the Chicken Milanese. The remaining lemon juice is squeezed over the chicken, and the used lemon is placed on the plate. Serve immediately and enjoy!!!

There you have it, my Chicken Milanese-updated.

Notes:
1) *E.V.O.O. is the acronym for Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

2) If you can’t find thinly sliced chicken breasts in the grocery store, hold the breast and cut it crosswise. Next, place the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap and, using a meat mallet, pound it out as thin as possible without it tearing.

3) Ensure all the chicken cutlets are coated on both sides with the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap, and transfer to the fridge for at least 2 hours.

4) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through the online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.

https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/10/summer-time-flowers-and-herbs/