The problem isn’t that they’re lean, it’s that they’re plump. Boneless chicken breasts, that is, which are hard to cook not just because their lack of fat makes them prone to drying out, but also because they bulge in the middle and taper at the ends, like the boa constrictor digesting an elephant. How can you bring the thick middle to doneness without desiccating those shallow edges?
My favorite fix is to pound the heck out of them. Flattening the soft flesh into a thin, uniform cutlet allows it to cook evenly and quickly and still stay juicy. Use the flat side of a meat tenderizer or a rolling pin, and let each stroke fall with a cathartic thwack. It may take an extra few minutes to flatten your chicken breasts, but the faster cooking time makes it a wash. Besides, you’ll work out some stress.
Once pounded, chicken cutlets can be grilled, seared or breaded and fried like schnitzel. But one stress-free way to go is to simply sauté them and use the drippings to make a savory pan sauce, just as Martha Rose Shulman does in her recipe for lemon and garlic chicken breasts. Cherry tomatoes and white wine anchor the sauce, which is seasoned with rosemary and thickened with the small amount of flour she dredges the cutlets in before sautéing. Serve this elegant, summery dish with a glass of the wine you used for the sauce, and enjoy a vibrant dinner that feels a little more elevated than the average weeknight meal.
Featured Recipe
Lemon and Garlic Chicken With Cherry Tomatoes
Peaches are another summertime ingredient that really shine in a pan sauce, especially if they’re a little past their prime. Throw mealy or overripe fruit into a ripping hot skillet and watch their tartly sweet juices flow. I love to simmer them with skillet meatballs spiked with basil and lime. They’ll soften without breaking down and add body to the pan sauce. I’m partial to pork here, but chicken or turkey would work equally as well.
More summer sunshine, this time in a bowl: Sarah Jampel’s spicy corn and coconut soup is gently sweet, but with an electric zip from chiles, ginger and lime juice. Balance the velvety broth with a crunchy topping, like chopped peanuts or cashews; toasted unsweetened coconut flakes; or crispy fried shallots, and brighten it all up with cilantro or mint.
Yewande Komolafe’s shrimp tacos can grace my table any day of the year, but they feel especially spot-on in hot weather, when the crisp, lightly pickled strands of red cabbage are so cooling and juicy with the cumin- and cayenne-spiced shrimp. A spoonful of sour cream or crema lends a lactic tang.
The grillheads among us probably have their chicken and other meaty recipes lined up and memorized (if not, we have a cheat sheet for you here), but Hetty “All Up In Your Grills” Lui McKinnon would like to suggest a gorgeous meatless option. Her sweet and salty zucchini with miso glaze works as a side dish or as a light meal paired with rice. It’s an especially apt recipe to use with large, slightly overgrown zucchini — the big boys that just posted up in your CSA box — or that one you’ve overlooked in the garden, so swole that it could bully the watermelon. But big or small, Hetty has your back.
Dessert time now, so let’s turn to Ali Slagle for a simple yet brilliant ice cream with olive oil and dates. It’s a nearly instant, no-cook recipe that serves as a soft glam makeover for a pint of vanilla ice cream. It’s simple, sweet and right on the money as summer hits its peak.
Naturally, you’ll want to subscribe for all these fruity, summery, savory recipes, along with so many more. If you need any technical help, the brilliant people at [email protected] are there for you. And I’m at [email protected] if you want to say hi.
That’s all for now. See you on Wednesday.
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