Just because it has a fancy name, don’t shy away from making it. Chicken Française is an Italian-American dish of flour-dredged, egg-dipped, sautéed chicken cutlets with a lemon-butter and white wine sauce. And it’s simple to make and so good! Once you make this… you will make it often. I promise!
Creamy Lemony Chicken Francaise
2 large boneless and skinless chicken cutlets*
2 large eggs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated (looks like powder)
3 lemons, for juicing and slicing
2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
6-8 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)*
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt, (add more to suit your taste)
1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
fresh lemon juice from ½ a lemon
2 teaspoons parsley (extra), to garnish
Pat chicken breasts dry with a paper towel.
Add eggs, Parmesan, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and a pinch of salt and some black pepper in a shallow bowl. Whisk until blended. Mixture will be thick and clumpy.
In another shallow bowl, whisk the flour and salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in the flour first. Then coat them in the egg wash, allowing excess egg mixture to drip off.
Add oil and butter to a large non-stick skillet and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil/butter is hot enough for frying, carefully lay in your chicken in the skillet.
Fry the fillets for about 4 minutes on each side until nice and golden brown.
Place each cooked fillet on a paper towel lined plate.
To the same frying pan, add the crushed garlic, and cook for one minute until fragrant.
Add in the white wine, chicken broth and parsley. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes on high heat to reduce down, while swirling the pan occasionally.
Reduce heat and add the cream. Simmer on low until slightly thickened. Taste test and season with salt and pepper, as desired.
Stir in the juice of half a lemon, and return the chicken to the sauce to heat through on low heat for two minutes.
Add some sliced lemon around the chicken and sprinkle with parsley.
Serve with a side salad or vegetable.
Or serve over rice or pasta, if desired.
*NOTES:
* You can use regular chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally to make 4 fillets. You can then pound them until they are ½ inch thick. I buy chicken cutlets for less work.
** If you don't like the wine, substitute it with chicken broth. The wine flavor is not strong, as it will cook off during the heating process. I like it much better with the wine.
*** Thicken the sauce
with cornstarch if needed: 1 teaspoon of cornstarch to 1 tablespoon of water;
mix well and add to the center of the pan for a thicker sauce.
