Chicken Milanese with Arugula Salad

I love homemade breaded chicken and I also love recipes that give you a complete meal in one.  If you're looking for something easy to whip up that gives you protein and veggies all in one shot, this recipe's for you. You'll get your veggies by tossing together a quick and easy arugula salad with cherry tomatoes and shallots.  And you get a beautiful portion of protein with the chicken breast.  It takes no time at all to bread them and fry them up.  For those of you buying breaded chicken breasts, I encourage you to give this a try.  I know buying a box of those frozen breasts is tempting, but making them from scratch is a game-changer.  If you can dip, you can do it.  That almost sounds like a TikTok, but I'm serious.  We're talking about dipping those chicken breasts in the flour, the egg, then the breadcrumbs.  That's it!  See how easy that sounds!  Anyway, let me get myself back on track.  You'll be so proud of yourself when you sit down to eat and taste how delicious they are.  Nothing beats homemade.  Alright, I can't neglect to mention what pulls this plate altogether, the lemon vinaigrette.  Anytime you take dijon mustard, lemon juice, and olive oil and let them dance together in a bowl, it gives you a gorgeous dressing to drizzle over just about anything.  And that's exactly what we do with it.  Drizzle, drizzle, drizzle. I love this dish in the Spring and Summer.  It's light.  It's healthy, and it's so satisfying.

To make it gluten-free, I use King Arthur-Gluten Free All-Purpose flour and homemade gluten-free bread crumbs. 

Recipe for Chicken Milanese with Arugula Salad:

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 4 tbps fresh lemon juice, about 2 squeezed lemons

• 2 tsp Dijon mustard

• Salt, to taste

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 2 cups baby arugula

• ½ pint tri-color cherry tomatoes, cut in half

• 1 shallot, sliced thin

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, washed and dried, pounded to ¼ inch thick

• 1 cup flour

• 3 eggs, beaten

• 1 ½ cups bread crumbs

• ½ cup canola oil for sautéing

• Shaved parmesan, optional topping

Directions:

Make the dressing: Put Dijon mustard and lemon juice in small bowl and whisk together.  Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Whisk.  Set aside. 

In a medium bowl add the arugula and shallots and drizzle with two tbsp of the dressing.  Toss to coat.  Set aside 

Place the flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs in three separate bowls.  Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.  Dredge both sides of the chicken in the flour, tapping off excess.  Next dip both sides of the chicken in the egg, allowing any excess to drip off.  Finally dredge both sides of the chicken in the breadcrumbs. 

Heat canola oil in large sauté pan over medium/low heat.  Place chicken in the pan and cover with lid.  Cook until golden brown, 3-4 minutes.  Flip, cover, and cook the other side until golden brown, about another 2-3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper. 

To plate:  Put one chicken breast on a each plate.  Divide arugula and shallot mixture evenly into fours as you top the chicken with it.  Add the cherry tomatoes on top.  Drizzle with lemon vinaigrette.  If desired, add shaved parmesan.