sun dried goodness

Woe is me...I must apologize dear reader as the above photo does no justice to this dish. Mainly for two reasons...firstly...I actually ended up shooting the leftovers at lunch the following day, and, well, to be frank...I took shitty photos. But please believe me, this dish is quite delicious. The sun dried tomato "tapenade" is outstanding. It's sweet and savory and could easily top any number of dishes, this version happens to be sitting atop some chicken scallopini along side of some roasted asparagus and some roasted garlic mashed potatoes. It's funny, cause if this dish has a theme, it would be roasted garlic, but the sun dried tomatoes give the stand out performance and really capture one's attention.

The reason roasted garlic would be the theme of the dish, is it's the base flavor that everything else is built on. It's the foundation of flavor for the potatoes and the tapenade and garlic accompanies the asparagus in the oven as well. But like many foundations, it's outshone in this dish and plays a distant second fiddle to the sweetness that is sun dried tomatoes. Now, I'm a big fan of sun dried tomatoes and always have a jar in my pantry, but this sauce/tapenade blew me away. Scallopini is any type of meat, sliced/pounded uber thin, and then pan fried till golden brown. It's a classic technique seen mostly with veal, but works across the protein board. It does, however, need some type of accompaniment. And at the top of my list, right now, are these sun dried tomatoes.

Scallopini

4 boneless chicken breast pounded thin

1 C flour

2 eggs beaten with a splash of water

1 C panko bread crumbs

salt and pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Remember that breading technique I wrote about last entry...here it is again. Season the chicken breasts liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Prep the breading stations by placing flour, eggs, and panko in separate shallow containers. Now, dip each breast first in the flour to coat, then the egg wash, and finally in the panko. Retire to a cooling rack on a sheet tray and allow to rest in the fridge for a min of 15 minutes. Once ready to fry, heat 3 tbsp of olive oil over high heat in a saute pan. It's important to get the oil hot. Add the chicken breasts and allow to fry for 3-4 minutes. Don't touch it...let it sit and fry. Flip, allow to sit for another 4 minutes and remove from heat. Top with sun dried tomato sauce and serve.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

4-5 Russet Potatoes (2 lbs), peeled and quartered

3/4 C milk

2 tbsp butter

salt and pepper

1 head of garlic roasted

1 scallion chopped, green and white parts

Directions

First off, roast your garlic. This is also a basic technique one should know. Preheat your oven to 350F. Take a whole head of garlic and chop it across the bulbs to reveal the flesh. Place on a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and your choice of herbs. My standard is thyme and rosemary. Wrap in the foil and place in the oven for an hour. Take your peeled and quartered potatoes and place in a large pot. Add cold water, just enough to cover the potatoes, and salt liberally. Place on high heat, bring to a boil, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Heat the milk and butter together in a small saucepan then add to the potatoes and mash until well incorporated. Finally, add the roasted garlic and chopped scallions, stir to combine, and season to taste. Cover and keep warm.

Sun Dried Tomato Tapenade

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 C sun dried tomatoes chopped

1 head of roasted garlic

1 shallot diced

2 anchovy fillets diced

1/3 C white wine

1 C chicken stock

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp lemon juice (half a lemon)

salt and pepper

Directions

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add shallot and anchovy and cook until the shallot is soft and the anchovy have broken down. Add sun dried tomatoes, roasted garlic and saute for a minute. Deglaze the pan with white wine and simmer to reduce slightly. Add chicken stock and simmer to reduce to desired consistency. Lower the heat and add butter, stir to combine. Remove from heat, finish with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

There's not much else to say about the dish. It's clean, simple, and quick. The sun dried tomatoes give a sweetness to the chicken and the mashed potatoes are velvety and flavorful with a mixture of textures to make you wonder how we ever felt the need to develop potatoes from a box. Easy enough for a Wednesday night, elegant enough for a Saturday night dinner party....what's not to love. Put this dish in your repertoire and I guarantee you'll find it comes up in heavy rotation.

Mangia et statti zitto...

cheers...

dunkin