Chicken En Croute Fiona Style

In The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook, Mireille Giuliano writes, "...the lighter my dinner is, the better I sleep, and the better I feel the next day." You can see her affinity for light dinners throughout the dinner chapter of the cookbook, but just because the dinners are light, that doesn't mean you have to worry about going to bed hungry.

I made her chicken en croute Fiona style for Jeff and I one evening and paired the light, citrusy chicken with a little bit of spinach and pasta to make a complete meal. There would also be plenty to eat if you served the chicken with some salad greens as Giuliano suggests.

Chicken En Croute Fiona Style (adapted from The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook)

I cut the recipe to serve two.

Ingredients

Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 egg
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/3-inch thickness

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

In a shallow bowl (or fancy-schmancy breading tray), combine zests, garlic, parsley, rosemary, Parmesan, and olive, and season to tastes with salt and pepper.

In another shallow bowl (or fancy-schmancy breading tray), whisk the egg.

Dip each chicken breast in the egg, and allow the excess to drip off. And then dip the chicken into the herb-Parmesan mixture, pressing and flipping to coat each side.

Place the chicken on the prepared baking sheet, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve immediately.

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I usually coat chicken with bread crumbs and loved this citrusy crust as an alternative. How do you add flavor and texture to plain old, boneless, skinless chicken breasts?

"The greatest and deepest pleasure in food exists in the first three bites. So eat with all of your senses and then let your brain kick in after three bites." - Mireille Giuliano