Chicken Paillard

 I love it when diet food tastes delicious! Chicken paillard has very little fat and is usually served on a bed of mixed  greens. The idea is to pound the chicken breast quite thinly so it cooks in no time and is tender to the bite. I like serving it with a salad that boosts the flavour of this rather bland cut of meat. Today I served it with a red wine vinegar and Parmesan dressing that was divine.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 sprigs thyme

Salad Dressing Ingredients:
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1.5 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1.5 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1.5 tablespoon canola oil
1 clove of garlic, grated on am microplane
1 tablespoon parm cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Add olive oil and garlic to a large bowl and reserve.

Place plastic wrap on a work surface, you want it to have the dimension of a large cutting board. Place your chicken in the middle of the plastic section and lightly pound with a food tenderizer until it is about 3/4 of an inch thick or almost double in surface area. Make sure to pound both sides lightly, don't hit it too hard or there will be a hole in the fillet. Salt and pepper both sides and place in the large bowl. Repeat process for the other breasts. Toss them gently in the garlic oil mixture and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes to 5 hours.

Prepare salad dressing by mixing the garlic, Dijon and vinegar together. Whisk in the two oils and finish by whisking in the parm cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss into a bowl of mixed greens. Reserve.

Remove the chicken from the fridge while you heat a grill pan on high. Add the chicken and leave it untouched until the bottom bit goes from pink to white, at this point gently lift  it with tongs and place on a diagonal to create hatch marks. Cook another minute longer and flip over. Cook for two minutes and lift the chicken, place it on a diagonal again to get hatch marks. Once the chicken is cooked, lay on a bed of greens and place a sprig of thyme on it....or lay it on the plate and place the salad on top..whatever tickles your fancy..