Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (142 page)
HIGH SEASONING
Ever notice that some chefs season food by sprinkling it from a good foot above the counter? Is this just kitchen theatrics, or is there a reason behind this practice? To find out, we sprinkled chicken breasts with ground black pepper from different heights—4 inches, 8 inches, and 12 inches—and found the higher the starting point, the more evenly the seasoning was distributed. At 4 inches, the pepper was clumped in the middle of the breast, but at 12 inches, it was lightly and evenly spread over the whole surface. And the more evenly the seasoning is distributed, the better food tastes. So go ahead and add a little flourish the next time you season.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Chicken Parmesan is a surefire crowd pleaser, but its multiple components can make it a time-consuming affair. We wanted to streamline chicken Parmesan and make it a dish we could get on the table in just 30 minutes. Pounding the cutlets thin ensured that they cooked evenly and quickly. After dipping the cutlets in an egg wash we rolled them in the crumb coating, made with ultra-crisp panko bread crumbs. The coating also stayed crisp underneath the layers of tangy tomato sauce and gooey cheese. Pan-frying the cutlets in olive oil added another layer of flavor and produced an even, beautifully browned crust.
SERVES 4
To make slicing the chicken easier, freeze it for 15 minutes. To ensure that the chicken and pasta are done at the same time, start cooking the pasta immediately after placing the chicken in the skillet.
TOMATO SAUCE
¹⁄ | cup extra-virgin olive oil |
2 | garlic cloves, minced |
1 | (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes |
¹⁄ | teaspoon dried basil |
¹⁄ | teaspoon dried oregano |
¹⁄ | teaspoon sugar |
Salt and pepper |
CHICKEN AND PASTA
2 | (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, tenderloins removed, trimmed |
1 | large egg |
Salt and pepper | |
1 | cup panko bread crumbs |
¹⁄ | cup extra-virgin olive oil |
3 | ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (³⁄ |
1 | ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (¹⁄ |
8 | ounces spaghetti or linguine |
1. FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE:
Heat oil and garlic in large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until garlic turns golden but not brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, basil, oregano, sugar, ¹⁄
4
teaspoon pepper, and pinch salt, bring to simmer, and cook until sauce thickens and flavors meld, 10 to 12 minutes. Off heat, season with salt to taste and cover to keep warm.
2. FOR THE CHICKEN AND PASTA:
Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Halve chicken horizontally, then cover chicken halves with plastic wrap and pound to even ¹⁄
4
-inch thickness with meat pounder.
3.
Lightly beat egg and ¹⁄
4
teaspoon salt together in shallow dish or pie plate. Combine bread crumbs, ¹⁄
4
teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄
4
teaspoon pepper in second dish. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Working with 1 cutlet at a time, coat with egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Coat all sides of cutlet with bread-crumb mixture, pressing gently so that crumbs adhere. Transfer breaded cutlets to prepared wire rack.
4.
Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place cutlets in skillet and cook until deep golden brown and crisp on first side, about 3 minutes. Flip cutlets, reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook until deep golden brown and crisp on second side, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer cutlets to clean wire rack set in baking sheet and sprinkle evenly with mozzarella and Parmesan. Broil cutlets until cheese is melted and spotty brown, about 3 minutes.
5.
Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Drain pasta. Serve chicken with pasta, spooning sauce over individual portions and passing Parmesan separately.
FREEZING AND THAWING CHICKEN
Chicken can be frozen in its original packaging or after repackaging. If you are freezing it for longer than two months, rewrap (or wrap over packaging) with foil or plastic wrap, or place inside a zipper-lock freezer bag. You can keep it frozen for several months, but after two months the texture and flavor will suffer. Don’t thaw frozen chicken on the counter; this puts it at risk of growing bacteria. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight or in a large bowl in the sink under cold running water.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Chicken francese is a simple yet refined dish consisting of pan-fried cutlets with a light but substantial eggy coating and a bright lemony sauce. But a rubbery coating and puckery lemon sauce are all-too-common problems. Dredging the cutlets in flour, then dipping them in egg, and finally dredging them again in flour produced a delicate, soft coating that stayed put. Adding just a couple tablespoons of milk to the egg ensured a tender coating. To prevent a bitter sauce, we skipped whole lemon slices in favor of fresh lemon juice, which we augmented with wine and chicken broth. Thickening our sauce with a roux (a combination of flour and butter) ensured it would cling to our coating. We wanted more sauce, but the extra time required for it to reduce caused the chicken to dry out while waiting in the oven. Reversing the typical order of things, our solution was to make the sauce first, then cook the chicken and finish the sauce.
SERVES 4
To make slicing the chicken easier, freeze it for 15 minutes. The sauce is very lemony—for less tartness, reduce the amount of lemon juice by 1 tablespoon.
SAUCE
3 | tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces and chilled |
¹⁄ | cup finely chopped onion |
1 | tablespoon all-purpose flour |
2¹⁄ | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
¹⁄ | cup dry white wine or dry vermouth |
¹⁄ | cup lemon juice (2 lemons) |
Salt and pepper |
CHICKEN
4 | (6- to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, tenderloins removed, trimmed |
1 | cup all-purpose flour |
Salt and pepper | |
2 | large eggs |
2 | tablespoons milk |
2 | tablespoons olive oil |
2 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
2 | tablespoons minced fresh parsley |
1. FOR THE SAUCE:
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until light golden brown, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth, wine, and lemon juice, bring to simmer, and cook until sauce thickens and measures 1¹⁄
2
cups, 10 to 15 minutes. Strain sauce through fine-mesh strainer; set aside, discarding solids.
2. FOR THE CHICKEN:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Halve chicken horizontally, then cover chicken halves with plastic wrap and pound to even ¹⁄
4
-inch thickness with meat pounder.
3.
Combine flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄
4
teaspoon pepper in shallow dish or pie plate. Lightly beat eggs and milk together in second dish. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Working with 1 cutlet at a time, dredge in flour mixture, shaking off excess, then coat with egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Dredge cutlets in flour mixture again and shake off excess. Transfer cutlets to prepared wire rack.
4.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until butter is melted. Place 4 cutlets in skillet and cook until golden brown on first side, about 3 minutes. Flip cutlets, reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook until lightly browned on second side, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer cutlets to clean wire rack set in baking sheet. Wipe out skillet with paper towels. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, remaining 1 tablespoon butter, and remaining 4 cutlets; transfer to wire rack. Tent loosely with aluminum foil and transfer to oven to keep warm while finishing sauce. Wipe out skillet with paper towels.
5.
Transfer sauce to now-empty skillet and cook over low heat until heated through, about 1 minute. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons butter, 1 piece at a time, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Return 4 cutlets to skillet, turn to coat with sauce, then transfer each portion (2 cutlets) to individual plates. Repeat with remaining cutlets. Spoon 2 tablespoons of sauce over each portion and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately, passing remaining sauce separately.
Add 1 sprig fresh parsley and 1 sprig fresh tarragon to sauce along with broth, wine, and lemon juice. Add 1 tomato, cored, seeded, and cut into ¹⁄
4
-inch pieces, to sauce before spooning additional sauce over each portion in step 5. Substitute 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon for parsley.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Chicken saltimbocca is a new spin on an old Italian classic, veal saltimbocca. It sounds promising, but adaptations typically take this dish too far from its roots. We wanted to avoid overcomplicating this dish and give each of its three main elements—chicken, prosciutto, and sage—their due. Flouring the chicken before adding the prosciutto and sage allowed the chicken to brown evenly and prevented gummy, uncooked spots. Using thinly sliced prosciutto prevented its flavor from overwhelming the dish. A single sage leaf is the usual garnish, but we wanted more sage flavor, so, in addition to a whole leaf garnish, we also sprinkled some chopped fresh sage over the floured chicken before adding the prosciutto.
See “SIMPLIFIED SALTIMBOCCA” illustrations that follow recipe.