Easy classics, II.

CHICKEN MILANESE

This is a crowd pleaser. I always keep chicken breasts in my freezer and it never fails to please children and grownups alike. Also it is still delicious the next day, or in a sandwich. Depending on your needs, you can serve it as a main course (one half for each person), as chicken nuggets (you cut each breast in smaller pieces), or as finger food (you cut it in strips). As a rule I never cook meat without marinating it. This recipe is not an exception. So make sure that you do that, it doesn't need much, just season the chicken and leave it aside for 30 minutes or so, or until you finish other steps in the process. You'll also notice that my way of cooking this dish is very simplified, you don't need to have a huge counter space to work on to put the traditional assembly line of 3 dishes: one for the egg, one for the flour and one for the bread crumbs. It will happen only in 2 dishes. Trust me it will work.You'll need:

2 chicken half breasts
1tsp onion/garlic frozen mixture (just enough to season the chicken)
1 pinch dried oregano, crushed
1tsp lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
1/3 cup flour
2/3 cup bread crumbs
Vegetable oil for frying

Butterfly the chicken breasts: with a sharp knife cut the thickest part of the breast crosswise, and make sure you stop just before you cut it completely off. Open the flap you cut and pat it down. Do the same thing on the other side, where the tenderloin is. You'll have a piece of meat roughly in the shape of Africa. Place it between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or in a plastic bag. Fold a kitchen towel and place it under your cutting board to reduce  the noise when you beat the chicken. Beat the chicken breast with a cleaver (the flat side) or a mallet, making sure that your motion goes outward to stretch it properly. In a bowl, mix the onion with salt and pepper and the oregano. Add the chicken, sprinkle with the lime juice. Beat the egg and add it to the bowl. Mix well to coat the chicken and set aside. In a shallow dish mix the flour and the bread crumbs. Save some of the mixture in a small container. You will add it as needed later. Make sure that the mixture is not too powdery, meaning the flour is more than needed. It should feel more granulated from the bread crumbs. Take the chicken piece by piece and coat with the crumbs. Pat down so it would stick properly.
Heat the oil in a deep pan.This way, when you fry the chicken it will brown simultaneously on both sides, and it will not splatter all over your stove. When golden brown, remove the chicken to a platter lined with paper towels. Serve with a side of rice and vegetables. Or improvise, the choices are endless.
TIP: you can make the same recipe with veal scaloppini.