To Slow Time Down

From Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
Sautéed Fillets of Breast of Chicken with Lemon and Parsley, Siena Style

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 tablespoons butter
3 whole chicken breast, filleted
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
The freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
Garnish: 1 lemon, sliced thin

Directions:

1. Put the oil and 3 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet and turn on the heat to medium high. When the butter foam subsides, slip in as many of the chicken fillets as will fit loosely. Cook them briefly on both sides, less than 1 minute altogether. Transfer the fillets to a warm plate, using a slotted spoon or spatula, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat the procedure until all the fillets are done.

2. Add the lemon juice to the skillet, and let it simmer briskly over medium heat for about 20 seconds, while scraping loose cooking residues from the bottom and sides of the pan, using a wooden spoon. Add the chopped parsley and the remaining tablespoon of butter, stir rapidly for 4 or 5 seconds, then turn the heat down to low and return the fillets to the pan together with any juices they may have shed in the plate. Turn them over in the pan juices 2 or 3 times, then transfer, together with the juices, to a warm platter. Garnish with the thin slices of lemon and serve at once.

For 4 to 6 servings

Comment

Sometimes I've been using this book as an alternative to the usual way we cook certain staples. Last evening, I was going to barbeque some chicken breasts, looked & found this simple recipe. We used it to make chicken burgers on a flatbread bun. Please don't tell Marcella.