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Chicken Milanese with a salad of celery, fennel, and anchovy

Yield: 4

Overview: tenderize and bread the chicken, make a dressing, prep the veggies, and fry the chicken

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Ingredients

For the chicken

• 1 ½ lbs chicken breast (3-4 breasts)
• ½ cup ap flour
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 3 tablespoons white sesame seeds

For the dressing

• 6 anchovies
• 1 garlic clove
• zest of 1 orange
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

For the salad

• 1 head celery, stalks thinly sliced on a sharp bias
• 1 head fennel, thinly sliced on a mandoline
• 2 tablespoons capers
• ¼ of a bunch of parsley, whole leaves picked

To serve

• extra anchovy filets
• flakey salt

Instructions

1. Tenderize the chicken. On a stable surface, position the chicken breasts between two pieces of parchment paper. Leave plenty of room between the breasts, as they will expand. Using a meat tenderizer (or rolling pin), pound the chicken breasts until they’re about ½ inch thick.
2. Bread the chicken. Arrange three wide containers (like quarter sheet pans) as an assembly line. Add flour to the first tray, eggs to the second tray, and panko and sesame seeds to the third tray. Season each tray with a generous pinch of salt. Make sure everything is well mixed. Going down the line, coat each chicken breast with flour, then egg, then the panko mixture. Remove to a plate. Take your time with each step to ensure that all major surfaces are coated. If you run low on flour or panko (or it gets too clumpy), add more.
3. Make the dressing. Using a mortar and pestle or food processor, grind up the anchovies, garlic, and zests, then mix in the mustard, vinegar, and honey. Stream in the olive oil while mixing so the dressing is well emulsified. Taste for salt, acid, and sweetness, and adjust.
4. Prep the vegetables. Slice up the celery and fennel. Take extra care with the mandoline (see tip). Pick the parsley leaves.
5. Fry the chicken. Choose your widest skillet (cast iron or carbon steel is best). Depending on the size, you may have to fry the breasts one at a time (don’t crowd the pan). Add oil to a depth of about ½ inch, and heat on medium heat to 350℉. Carefully add a chicken breast, laying away from you. Fry for about 4 minutes, until gold brown and crispy, then flip it and repeat. Cook to an internal temperature of 150℉. Remove to a wire rack set over a sheet tray. The oil temperature will fluctuate as you add the chicken so use your thermometer, and adjust to stay as close to 350℉ as possible.
6. Finish the salad. Add the celery, fennel, capers, and parsley to a mixing bowl. Toss with the dressing and taste for seasoning.
7. Plate. Place a chicken breast on the plate and arrange the salad on the side. Top the salad with 2 or 3 whole anchovies. Finish the chicken with a little flakey salt.

Tip

A Japanese mandoline is an essential tool for thinly slicing salad vegetables. It’s also the tool most likely to bite you. Keep your fingertips away from the blade. Keep your hand open and your fingers out, pressing the vegetables to the cutting surface with your palm. Don’t try to get every last millimeter of fennel: sacrifice some edible flesh at the root end to save your hand. Go slow. Don’t be a hero.

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