Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Begin by preparing the broccoli. Green Giant conveniently packages broccoli in pieces suitable for roasting and/or grilling. Toss the broccoli ‘flowerets’ into a metal bowl (lightweight for tossing) and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil along the inside rim of the bowl. Sprinkle the broccoli with a few pinches of kosher salt and toss the broccoli to coat with the olive oil. Add more oil as necessary, but don’t ‘swim’ the broccoli pieces in oi or they will just end up frying in the oven. Add a pinch of fresh black pepper and lay the pieces on a sheet pan in a single layer to roast in the oven. This may take 25-35 minutes until the pieces are tender to the point of a knife. When finished, remove the sheet pan from the oven and set aside to cool.

Continue prepping the other ‘garnishes’. Cut the sun-dried tomatoes into thin slivers and set aside. Cook the hard-cooked eggs and peel or if already prepared, slice them in half and set aside. Wash and dry the fresh tomatoes, if using. I like to cut them in half so they don’t burst all over your shirt when you bite down on them! Set aside. Pat the black olives dry and pit them if not pitted. Set aside. Wash and dry the radishes, if using. Slice as thinly as possible. Set aside. Cook, drain and crumble the bacon, if using.

Prep the lettuce. Wash, dry and separate the leaves, or use pre-washed lettuce. Roll up in a clean towel and refrigerate until ready to use.

Finally, wash, dry and chop the parsley. Set aside about ¼ cup.

Prepare the chicken breasts. Foodies Markets sells ‘split’ chicken breasts; that is boneless, skinless breasts that have been cut in half through the middle. If you are using these, remove the chicken from the package and place on a cutting board. Cover with a piece of parchment paper and further flatten the breasts with your hands, a rolling pin or a meat pounder. The goal here is to achieve flatter pieces of more-or-less even thicknesses.

Prepare the breading station. Whisk 2 eggs in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil until completely amalgamated. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.

Season the flour with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the flour to a shallow bowl or pie/cake plate. Set aside.

Crush the panko crumbs with your fingers to achieve a finer texture; they are usually very coarse. Add the crumbs to a shallow plate or a second pie/cake plate. Add 2 tablespoons of grated Parmigiana cheese and 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley. Add a pinch of black pepper. Mix well. Set aside.

Have a large sauté pan ready at the stove. And grab a pastry brush.

Working with one piece of chicken breast at a time, dip the chicken into the flour and pat off excess flour. Hold the floured chicken breast in your hand and brush one side with the beaten egg mixture. Lay the ‘egged’ side down in the panko crumbs and press to coat with the crumbs. Lift out of the crumbs. Brush the second side with more egg wash and the press this second ‘egged’ side down into the crumbs. Repeat until your chicken breasts are all breaded; that is nicely coated in crumbs.

Heat the empty sauté pan over medium heat. When fairly warm, add 3-4 tablespoons of oil to the pan and heat until the oil is barely shimmering.

DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THE PAN WHILE IT IS HEATING WITH OIL IN IT!!

(My mother did this years ago and caused a minor (very) kitchen fire. My father/her husband/ the Fire Chief showed up to his own kitchen fire. Be careful when heating oil.)

Carefully lay a piece of breaded chicken into the pan. Depending on the size of your pan, add more breasts to the pan, but do not crowd the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side and flip over (use a pair of tongs) to brown the second side. Add more oil if necessary. Remove browned breasts to a sheet pan and continue to sauté the rest of the chicken. Now depending on the thickness of the chicken it may or may not be completely cooked through. Use a thermometer to determine the internal temperature of the browned breasts, IF NOT 165 degrees, slide the sauté pan into the oven for 5-10 minutes. Remove pan and check the temperature again. Always check the temperature in the thickest part of the breast. When cooked, remove the breasts to a clean cutting board and let ‘rest’ for 6-8 minutes.

Build the salads. Grab 4-large plates or large shallow bowls. Divide the lettuce among the 4 plates. Drizzle or brush the lettuce leaves with dressing. Begin to arrange the garnishes on each plate, separating textures and colors. Drizzle with more dressing. Slice the cooled chicken breasts into slices and divide among the salads. Sprinkle each salad with chopped parsley and some grated parmigiana cheese and crumbled bacon, if using. A twist or two of fresh ground black pepper would be nice. And serve extra salad dressing on the side.