Seared Cicken Breasts with Lemon Cream Sauce

Peter from Kalofagas - Greek Food & Beyond inspired this dish. Peter posted a mouth watering Seared & Braised Breasts of Chicken recipe a couple of weeks ago. I had all intentions of staying with the game plan, but as usual when I start chopping and pulling ingredients out of the refrigerator, I find things like lemons and mushrooms and start tossing them in the pan.

This is the product of Peter's inspired dish.




Season four chicken cutlets with coarse sea salt and white pepper. Dredge in all-purpose flour.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add on tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Once the oil is heated add one bunch of chopped scallions and 1/2 lb. of sliced cremini mushrooms sear until they begin to turn brown. Remove the scallions and the mushrooms from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate lined with absorbent paper towels.

Add another tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and sear chicken cutlets golden brown on both sides and set aside.

Discard the oil and place your skillet back on medium heat and add the 1/2 cup of dry white wine and and simmer for 1-2 minutes while scraping up the brown bits. Add 1/2 cup of heavy cream, 1 cup chicken stock, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, juice from half of a lemon and 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme and and gently bring to a boil. Carefully add your chicken cutlets back into the skillet and lower heat to simmer uncovered for about 15-20 minutes or until your sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Add the reserved scallions and mushrooms and blend into the sauce. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and discard the bay leaf.

Spoon some cream sauce onto the bottom of each plate and then add a layer of ziti cooked al-dente and ladle cream sauce over ziti and crown with the chicken cutlet. Garnish with some shaved Parmigiana-Reggiano.

This is one top-shelf dish bursting with the bright flavor of lemon and thyme.

Thanks Peter for the inspiration!