Parmesan-Crusted Chicken with Rocket

📝 Ingredients

• 300 g chicken breast (2 fillets of about 150 g each)
• 20 g plain flour
• 1 egg
• 50 g breadcrumbs
• 40 g Parmesan (30 g grated for the coating, 10 g shaved)
• 3 tbsp olive oil (2 for cooking, 1 for the salad)
• 125 g rocket (1 bag)
• 250 g cherry tomatoes
• 1 lemon
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large frying pan (28 cm)
• 3 shallow bowls
• Baking paper and rolling pin
• Wide spatula
• Mixing bowl
• Fine grater and vegetable peeler

📖 Steps

1. Lay each breast fillet flat and, with one hand on top, slice it in half horizontally to make 2 thin escalopes. Place them between two sheets of baking paper and flatten with the rolling pin or the base of a saucepan to an even 5 mm thickness. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Set out three shallow bowls: the flour in the first, the egg beaten with a pinch of salt in the second, and in the third the breadcrumbs mixed with 30 g finely grated Parmesan.
3. Dip each escalope in the flour, tapping off the excess, then in the egg, letting it drip off well, and finally in the Parmesan breadcrumbs, pressing on both sides. Leave to rest for 5 min: the coating will stick better during cooking.
4. Meanwhile, halve the cherry tomatoes. Rinse and spin the rocket dry if needed. In the salad bowl, mix the juice of half a lemon, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Cut the other half of the lemon into wedges.
5. Heat 2 tbsp oil in the frying pan over a medium heat, not high: the Parmesan would burn before the chicken is cooked. The oil is ready when a breadcrumb sizzles gently in it. Add the escalopes without overlapping them, in two batches if necessary.
6. Cook for 3 min without touching, until golden underneath, then turn carefully with the spatula and cook for another 3 min. The chicken is done when the centre is white, not pink. Drain for 1 min on kitchen paper.
7. Just before serving, add the rocket and tomatoes to the salad bowl and toss with the dressing: dressed too early, rocket wilts. Divide between the plates.
8. Place the escalopes on the salad and add the Parmesan shavings, made with the peeler, and the lemon wedges. Squeeze the lemon over the coating just before eating, Milanese-style.