POLLO ALLA CAPRESE, CAPRESE CHICKEN, MY VERSION

POLLO ALLA CAPRESE

CAPRI!!! Have you been there? It’s a wonderful rocky island in an azure sea off the coast of Napoli. It’s romantic. It’s scenic. It’s Campanian. It’s loaded with good food. It’s Italian. Americans are very familiar with the Namesake Salad from there called INSALATA CAPRESE. At its most basic this is a salad of Fresh made Mozzarella layered with ripe sliced tomatoes, fresh basil and fruity delicious Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Some sea salt and black pepper (or not) and you’re done. Sorry, no Balsamic on mine, that’s an addition created over here, not in Capri. Balsamic Vinegar is a product of Modena, hundreds of miles away on the Italian Mainland many provinces away from sunny Campania in the south. Southern Italian food should always be…SUNNY…bright, colorful, especially when you’re invoking an Island with cliffs, beaches, sun drenched days and warm nights. Get the picture? I’m much too logical for my own good, or is it OCD? I’m sure it’s a combo of both but when Mozzarella and tomato are baked into something it falls into the Al Forno or Sorrentino style of Southern ITalian dishes. Caprese is a room temperature combination of some ingredients. I’ve poured over CrockPot, InstantPot, Airfryer, baked, roasted, fried, and microwaved versions of Chicken Caprese and haven’t liked one yet because somewhere in all of them something is lost in translation. See, there’s my OCD or Logic. Caprese is a raw salad..why are you cooking it. If you add it to chicken should the chicken be grilled, then marinated and tossed or layered with the typical Caprese salad ingredients? Good, but not spectacular. The chicken became a distraction from the salad components instead of a compliment. My Chicken Caprese is more like what some people today call Chicken Milanese in the restaurants. A Fried Chicken cutlet topped with a salad, with or without mozzarella. Delicious but still not what i was looking for. So I decided to lightly bread whole boneless breasts and bake them. When they were done I let them cool and then topped them with a salad of sliced cherry tomatoes, cubed mozzarella, chopped fresh basil, sea salt, black pepper and the best Extra Virgin Olive Oil you can get your hands on. When the chicken was out of the oven for about 10 minutes over the top of it goes the tomato salad. The salad should be made no less than 2 hours before serving, this way the tomatoes leech their juices and the resulting marinade is a heady mix. It soaks right into the breading on the chicken and it’s an amazing

THE SALAD: First we start making the salad. For 4 serving portions use :

3 pts. RIPE CHERRY OR GRAPE TOMATOES

1 1/2 CUPS DICED MOZZARELLA

(OPTIONAL!!!) 1 1/2 TBS FINE DICED RED ONION OR 2 FINELY MINCED CLOVES OF GARLIC, not both.

1/2 CUP EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

6 CHOPPED OR TORN FRESH BASIL LEAVES (WARNING, WARNING, do not use dried basil. Its flavor is markedly different than fresh, and it’s really not used in Italy. It’s an American convenience herb. If fresh is unavailable, the dish is just not worth making. )

SEA SALT TO TASTE, FRESH GROUND BLACK PEPPER TO TASTE.

Mix all together and let sit covered in a cool place for at least 2 hours.

8 THIN, POUNDED ORGANIC OR NATURAL CHICKEN BREASTS

1/4 CUP FLOUR SEASONED WITH SEA SALT AND BLACK PEPPER

3 BEATEN EGGS

1 1/4 CUP PLAIN ITALIAN BREADCRUMBS

1/4 CUP GRATED PECORINO ROMANO CHEESE

2 TBS MINCED FRESH ITALIAN FLAT LEAF PARSLEY

KOSHER SALT, PAPRIKA, BLACK PEPPER

OLIVE OIL for FRYING

Set up a station for frying. First the cutlets. Then the bowl of seasoned flour. Then in another bowl mix the breadcrumbs, pecorino, parsley, and salt, paprika and black pepper to taste. Cover a sheet pan with a few layers of paper towels. One by one, dredge the cutlets in the flour…shake off excess. Then into the eggs. Then let the excess run off, then press into the crumb mixture making sure you’ve well coated both sides. Line these up on a line baking sheet. When done move them to the side and set up your frying station. In a cast iron or other heavy frying pan heat 1/2 inch of olive oil until a bread cube place in it starts to sizzle and brown. Now your oil is ready. Give it 6 minutes or more. Without crowding the cutlets add a few at a time Give them 3-4 minutes per side, till nicely golden and tender. Add more oil as needed letting it come back up to temperature between batches. Drain the finished cutlets on the paper towel covered tray. Serve one or two cutlets per person (if feeding 4) and pour a nice amount of the Caprese Salad over them Let them sit for 2 minutes, then serve. I like to add a grating of Pecorino over the warm draining cutlets, along with a grinding of black pepper. That’s just me. Adds additional flavor. Serve!!

So many ways to create this ItalianAmerican classic but this is my way. You can switch out the Pecorino with Parmigiano or Grana Padano but my preference is the Pecorino. When frying the cutlets be mindful of your stove top and pan…you may need to adjust the heat on it in the beginning so you don’t burn the crumbs before the chicken is fully cooked. Just an FYI. Happy Cooking!!!

CHICKEN, PROVOLONE, PARSLEY AND BASIL PATTIES, SUMMER LOVE

Summer, love it, can’t wait for it to start and hate when it’s over. This is my happy time.  Even the food changes for the most part as I migrate to being outside versus inside and what better way to start of the month of June than with a recipe of mine that is best when cooked on a charcoal or gas grill.  CHICKEN PATTIES…now don’t think a dry hockey puck of plain chicken with some seasoning, i understand that fowl (get it?? please lol) version is a thing.  Mine though reflects my world, that ItalianAmerican world of NYC and NJ that has a particular love for ItalianAmerican cuisine.  Every Summer growing up starting with Labor Day the local Salumerias (Pork Stores) would start selling certain meats just made for the Summer months.  The Cheese and Parsley ring on the crisscrossed skewers and the chicken patty made with Provolone and Parsley, sometimes Basil too, sometime diced peppers and onions in the mix too but my preference was/is the provolone/parsley and basil blend.  Easy to make, easy to cook and wonderful to eat.  These patties of my youth and current life are delicious.  You need a good sharp chef’s knife and a food processor.  What?  What about ground chicken?   It will be too dry.  It will be too processed and the texture will be off.  Your end pattie should have some chicken texture.  Trust me, it makes for a better pattie.

The recipe makes 4 patties.

TIME: 45 minutes                                     YIELD: 4 PATTIES

3 FULLY TRIMMED BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN BREAST, ORGANIC IF POSSIBLE

1 FULLY TRIMMED BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN THIGH, ORGANIC IF POSSIBLE

or use all breast, or all thigh, if all thigh it will take longer to cook.

1/4 CUP FINELY DICED SWEET ONION

1 TSP WHITE WINE

1/4 CUP DICED PROVOLONE (AURICCHIO BRAND IMPORTED FROM ITALY PREFERRED)

1/8 CUP GRATED PECORINO ROMANO

2 CHOPPED SPRIGS OF ITALIAN FLAT LEAF PARSLEY

2 BASIL LEAVES

1 TSP COARSE ITALIAN BREAD CRUMBS

1/2 TBS. OLIVE OIL

1 TSP KOSHER SALT

1 TSP CRACKED BLACK PEPPER

 

Chill the blade and bowl of a food processor for 10 minutes.  Then Pulse the meat and cheese no more than 3 times. Add the rest of the ingredients.  Pulse JUST until everything is blended.  Turn out the mixture into a bowl and form into 4 equivalent patties. Place on wax paper and cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes to 1 hour.

On a well oiled grate, grill the patties on medium heat (whether it’s gas or charcoal) and grill on each side for at least 5 minutes per side, certainly make any time adjustments for your grill.  A too high grill will burn the outside and keep the inside close to undone.  A too low grill will steam the patties.  Yes, all these different temps and methods change how the end product tastes!! When they are done, place on a platter and tent with foil.  Leave them sit for 5 minutes.  Then serve on Rolls or on their own..  A very delicious taste of my “Summer”. Enjoy.

 

 

CHICKEN SCALOPPINE WITH LEMON AND SPINACH

 America’s most popular “meat” is Chicken, I know, it’s poultry not meat.  I just hate the proper culinary term for those types of foods, “PROTEINS”…it sounds so…sterile.  I chose to keep a very clean kitchen but not refer to it in laboratory terms.  So what about SCALOPPINE?  Did you spellcheck me?  Are you saying it’s SCALLOPINI? Well, we are both right..SCALLOPINI is the English spelling of the Italian word SCALOPPINE. And a Scaloppine is not a dish with a prescribed recipe, it’s a word that refers to how a particular piece of meat is cut.  Definied, it’s a thinly sliced piece of Veal, Beef, Pork or Chicken.  If you were in Italy most likely you would find Veal most often, but today’s Italy serves lots of Turkey scaloppine as well.  Chicken’s popularity is a very American tradition. Don’t get into the “which is best” because that is completely based on what YOU like best.  My preference is Veal, but Chicken is so versatile and well loved that I’m going to give you a recipe that’s full of flavor and the chicken cutlets work well with it.  The family wanted pasta with this, not me.  I used Farfalle, went nicely with it, but I prefer entrees like this paired with potatoes. Olive Oil Roasted Potatoes with salt, pepper, garlic, and fresh Rosemary.  So there are you choices…let the cooking games begin!

SERVES: 4                                         TIME: 1 1/2  HOURS
1 LEMON, JUICED AND SEEDED
4 THINLY POUNDED (NO THICKER THAN 1/4 INCH) CHICKEN CUTLETS
KOSHER SALT, FRESH GROUND BLACKPEPPER
1/2 CUP SIFTED FLOUR
5 TABLESPOONS EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
1 TABLESPOON UNSALTED BUTTER
2 GARLIC CLOVES, SLICED
1 TSP. FINELY MINCED FRESH ROSEMARY—-NOT DRIED
1 TSP. FINELY MINCED FRESH ITALIAN FLAT LEAF PARSLEY
1/4 CUP VERMOUTH OR WHITE WINE
1/4 CUP LOW SODIUM FAT FREE CHICKEN STOCK
4 THIN LEMON SLICES
2 CUPS CHOPPED FRESH SPINACH

 

In a stainless steel bowl, which 1 tbs. of the Lemon Juice, 1 sliced clove of garlic, 1 tbs. oliveoil, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper and coat the chicken with this.  Let this marinade no more than one hour, tightly covered in a cool area or the fridge.

In a large nonstick pan heat 2 tbs. of the oil.  Dredge the chicken in the flour, shaking off the excess and saute’ till nicely browned on both sides.  Takes about 6 minutes total. Remove the sauteed chicken to a platter and tent it with aluminum foil.  Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, then the garlic, rosemary, a bit of salt and pepper…let this cook for about 2 minutes, then add the wine/vermouth, the 1/2 the lemon juice, bring to a boil, then add the stock. Add the spinach and reduce the flame.  Add a little more salt and pepper.  Let this cook for about 8 minutes, then add the chicken back into the pan.  Cook for 5 minutes. Finish but adding the butter, swirl this around in the pan, add the parsley and top each scaloppine with a lemon slice and some of the pan juices…drizzle the remaining lemon over the top along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the chicken on top of a bed of the Spinach.  Delicious.  Happy Cooking!!