Remember when we used to go out to restaurants? Sigh… one day it will happen again! One of my favorite healthy restaurant meals is Chicken Paillard… it sounds fancy, but “paillard” basically just means that the chicken has been pounded nice and thin. It’s usually topped with a simple arugula salad or or served with a lemon wedge and some veggies. Simple, fresh, and easy! I recently started making it at home, and it’s now my favorite way to cook chicken. Because it’s pounded so thin, it cooks super quickly and I know we all love a dinner that’s thrown together in a matter of minutes! You’re going to look at the ingredients and think it’s way too simple, but when you cook it perfectly, it’s soo juicy and delicious and pairs well with any side dish!
Ingredients
2 organic chicken breasts
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp avocado oil
1 lemon
Salad:
You can keep it as simple as 2 handfuls of arugula tossed with olive oil, lemon, salt, and pepper, or add some additional ingredients! I added avocado and cherry tomatoes. Fresh Parmesan would be a delicious addition!
Serves 2.
- Place the chicken breast on a plastic cutting board or on a piece of saran wrap. Cover with another piece of wrap.
- Pound the breasts evenly to about 1/2-inch thickness using a mallet (or use the bottom of a skillet or a rolling pin if you don’t have a mallet.
- Remove the plastic wrap and season both sides of the pounded chicken with salt & pepper.
- Warm avocado oil on a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden on each side and cooked through, about 4-6 minutes per side, depending how thin you’ve pounded the chicken.* Transfer to a plate and squeeze lemon over the chicken.
- Serve the chicken with salad on top or on the side.
*here’s my ultimate tip for cooking chicken – use an internal meat thermometer and you’ll never have dried out chicken ever again! 165°F is the magic number!
Enjoy!
