Cassie’s Ruminations

Chicken Francese

Inspired by my friend Rachel, I went looking for a good recipe for chicken francese. This one by Tyler Florence got very good reviews, so I used it as my starting point. We liked this decently well, but it seemed to be missing something, and I’m not sure what. It would be very kid friendly, I think – it’s fairly bland, but not insipid. I served this with some roasted asparagus.

Chicken Francese
Serves 4

4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts (1.5 lbs)
1/3 cup all purpose flour
kosher salt and black pepper
3 eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon
1 cup chicken broth (I like fat free, low sodium)
1 small bottle (187 ml) dry white wine
2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
a few sprigs of fresh parsley

Place the chicken breasts one at a time into a large plastic food storage bag and pound with a meat mallet until they are about 1/4 inch thick. Season the flour with salt and pepper and place the mixture in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, beat the eggs with 2 tbsp of water to make an egg wash.

Cut the lemon in half equatorially. Thinly slice one half of the lemon into rounds and set aside. Pour the chicken broth into a 2 cup measuring cup and juice the other half of the lemon into the measuring cup.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dredge the chicken pieces, coating completely and shaking off any excess. Dip each piece in the egg wash to coat on all sides, letting excess drip off. Place the chicken in the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until nicely browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken to a platter.

Add the lemon slices to the skillet and brown on both sides, 20-30 seconds. Add the broth, wine, and lemon juice to the pan and scrape up any brown bits from the skillet. Turn the heat to medium high and let the sauce bubble for 5 minutes to reduce by 1/3. While the sauce is reducing, toss the butter pieces in the flour from earlier and coat them well, smashing the butter into the flour a bit. Drop the butter pieces into the sauce and whisk until the butter and flour are completely incorporated.

Bring the sauce back to a boil then reduce heat to medium low. Return the chicken to the skillet and turn to coat in sauce. Simmer for a final 2-3 minutes to warm the chicken and let some sauce soak into the coating. Serve warm with the lemon slices on top and a parsley garnish.