Thursday, September 25, 2008

Herbed Chicken Breasts with Olive Parmesan Crust

recipe from Wine Club:

4 small boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6-7oz each) , trimmed of excess fat
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs whole grain mustard
4 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups toasted breadcrumbs
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, rinsed, patted dry and chopped
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-reggiano
3 Tbls chopped oil packed sun dried tomatoes (about 3 large tomato halves, pat dry before chopping)
1 lemon, cut into wedges
**NOTE - I find you can halve the breadcrumb recipe and still have leftover - freeze it and use for other quick dinners

Heat the oven to 450F (if cooking right away) Put a flat rack on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. With a meat pounder or a heavy skillet, lightly pound the chicken between two sheets fo plastic wrap to even out the thickness of the breasts.

In a large bowl, mix the oil and mustard with half of the thyme, half of the rosemary, and the salt and pepper. Add the chicken and toss to coat well. You can proceed directly to coating the chiken breasts with crumbs, or let them marinate in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

Put the breadcrumbs in a large shallow dish and toss with the olives, Parmigiano, sun-dried tomatoes, and the remaining thyme and rosemary. Working with one piece at a time, tranfer the chicken to teh dish of crumbs, scoop some crumbs on top and press well a couple of times so the crumbs adhere to both sides(these crumbs will be a little wet, so really press them on) Transfer to the rack of the baking sheet.

Bake the chicken until its firm to the touch and registers 165F on an instant read thermometer, about 20 mins. Serve immediately with the lemon wedges for squeezing over the chicken.

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