Recipe: Chicken Francese

Chicken Francese

5 eggs
1 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup fresh, chopped parsley
salt & pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour (plus 2 tablespoons set aside)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup butter (2 tablespoons set aside)
juice of 2 lemons

To serve:
fresh, chopped parsley
lemon slices

With a sharp knife, cut the chicken breasts diagonal into long, thin slices, about 1/2 inch thick. Season the flour with salt and pepper, and then lightly dredge the chicken pieces in the flour.

Beat together the eggs. cheese, and parsley until frothy.

Heat half the oil in a heavy frying pan until hot.

Dip the floured chicken pieces into the egg mixture, and allow the excess to drip off.

Fry the chicken in the hot oil over medium heat until they are golden brown and cooked through. As you cook them, place the finished chicken pieces on a warmed platter and cover with foil. Continue cooking the rest of the chicken pieces in this manner.

After all of the chicken is cooked, add the chicken broth and lemon juice to the pan and bring to a boil, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the liquid is reduced by about one third.

Add the 1/2 cup of butter to the hot mixture, leaving the 2 tablespoons in a small bowl.

Mix together the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter with the flour.

Begin to whisk this flour mixture into the sauce, stirring constantly, just until the sauce has begun to thicken. Pour the sauce over the warm chicken, garnish with fresh parsley and lemon slices, and serve.

Servings: 4