Mozzarella Chicken

Mozzarella Chicken

Ingredients: Chicken breasts, cherry tomatoes, shallots, basil, breadcrumbs, garlic, flour, one egg, fresh mozzarella.

Chop garlic, shallots, and tomatoes. Saute in olive oil in a pan. Add basil near the end. 

Chicken breasts: Butterfly cut. Season. Flour. Egg wash. Breadcrumbs. Pan sear. 

Top with sauce and mozzarella. Bake 10 min at 350F. 

Complete time. Notice the lack of browning. 

Some tips:

1) Fresh, whole milk mozzarella: If you are making your own food, you're pretty much guaranteed to be healthier than restaurants. This is how I justify the extra saturated fat in this cheese. But with the higher fat/water content, it responds differently to heat. Don't expect to have that nice brown, toasted cheese that you get with shredded and nonfat cheeses. This is more of the gooey, deep-dish pizza kind.

2) The thinner the chicken, the better. The ones in this pic were a little too thick and they came out slightly raw. While the microwave fixed that quickly, it also messed up the cheese. Next time I'm going to pound the chicken flat.

3) The garlic and shallots were chopped pretty coarsely here. In that shape, they make for pretty strong bursts of flavor. Next time, I'll cook them first before adding the tomatoes and basil.

Thanks to Kira for providing the recipe and the tongs!