Chicken Paillard With Celery Root Puree, Mixed Salad Greens, and Goat Cheese Mornay

Remember to get in our Quickies Noodle Challenge.  Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to create a fun, sexy, inventive noodle dish.  The deadline for entry is midnight December 14, 2010.

The grand prize is a fantastic cookbook Quickies: Morning, Noon, and Night written by my good friend the super talented Denise Fletcher.

Guest Post Spotlight Saturday

Faith's An Edible Mosaic is one of the best blogs on the net. Obviously one that has been a source of inspiration for me as I chose it for my first ever Favorite Foodie Deconstruction Saturday. Faith is a marvelous cook. She’s smart, creative, inventive, precise and a good communicator. She has an easy way with getting her point across and her tutorials are exquisitely written. All the while, being a sweet supportive friend.

It truly is an honor to turn this floor over to a cook I respect the hell out of. Hopefully, you will see much collaboration between the fabulous Faith and I.

If you value my opinion, after you enjoy this, please hop on over to An Edible Mosaic.

Enjoy…

Before I get to the eats, I want to give a huge thank you to Lazaro, who is not only an inspiring cook but also a genuinely wonderful person. I also want to thank him for working so diligently to bring bloggers together through his guest post series. I have been introduced to many wonderful bloggers through his site and I am honored to be guest posting here today.

Now for the food! Breaded and shallow-fried chicken cutlets are one of my all-time favorite meals. This is a dish that crosses cultures and is internationally loved. It’s known by a few different names depending on where you’re from, including Hänchen-Schnitzel (Germany), Chicken Milanese (Italy), and Chicken Paillard (France). I decided to go the French route and serve it with celery root puree and Mornay sauce.

Since Chicken Paillard is usually served with salad greens and many times I’ve seen goat cheese included in the salad, I wanted to incorporate goat cheese into this meal in a different way. Then the idea of making a light Mornay sauce with goat cheese struck me. It was perfect. It could be drizzled over the whole meal, as a sauce for the celery root puree and chicken cutlets, and as a salad dressing on the greens. The Mornay isn’t heavy at all so it doesn’t weigh down the greens, and if you use sturdy greens they don’t even wilt with the warm sauce. If you’re not into warm salad dressings though, feel free to use any dressing you like (but be sure to still make the Mornay…it’s amazing, especially on the celery root puree).

Celery Root

If you’ve never worked with celery root before you’re in for a real treat. It’s not the prettiest vegetable you’ll ever lay eyes on (truth be told, it’s pretty gnarly looking), but it is intriguingly delicious with its distinctive flavor that is reminiscent of both celery and parsley. It’s in season during colder months so now is a great time to look for it; when you’re buying celery root, look for ones weighing about 1 pound or less since they have better flavor and texture than their larger counterparts.

Chicken Paillard {With Celery Root Puree, Mixed Salad Greens, and Goat Cheese Mornay}


(Yield: 2 servings)

Celery Root Puree:
1 medium starchy potato, peeled and diced
1 (about 3/4 lb to 1 lb) celery root (also called celeriac), peeled, rinsed, and diced
1/4 c milk
Salt and pepper

Chicken Paillard:
1 TB olive oil
2 (about 6 oz) chicken breast cutlets, pounded thin
1 egg
1/4 c breadcrumbs
1 TB fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 TB fresh minced parsley
1 tsp fresh minced thyme
Salt and pepper
Lemon wedges (for serving)

Goat Cheese Mornay:
1 tsp butter
1 tsp all-purpose flour
1/4 c milk
1 oz goat cheese
1 tsp fresh minced parsley
Salt and Pepper

Salad Greens:
3 c mixed salad greens
1/2 c cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar

For the Celery Root Puree: Put the diced potato and celery root in a medium pot and add enough cold water to just cover everything. Bring it up to a boil, then turn the heat down and let it simmer until the veggies are very tender (about 15 minutes). Drain the veggies, then put them back into the pot and mash them. Stir in the milk and season to taste with salt and pepper. Reheat over a double boiler if necessary before serving.

For the Chicken Paillard: Put the egg in a shallow bowl and beat it with a pinch of salt and pepper. In a separate shallow bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Dip each chicken cutlet in the egg, then let the excess drip off and dip each in the breadcrumb mixture. Add the olive oil to a medium-large skillet over medium-high heat; once the oil starts to ripple, add the chicken and cook until fully cooked and golden on both sides (about 3 minutes per side), flipping once. You can turn the heat down if the chicken starts to burn or cook too quickly; the chicken is fully cooked when there is no pink in the middle.

For the Goat Cheese Mornay: In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour; cook for about 30 seconds, then whisk in the milk and bring up to a simmer. Whisk in the goat cheese and continue cooking until the cheese is melted. Turn off the heat and add the parsley. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

For the Salad Greens: In a small bowl, stir together the vinegar, salt, and sugar, then stir in the onion; add enough cold water to just cover the onion, then let it sit for 20 minutes. Rinse and drain the onion, then pat dry. Before serving, toss together the salad greens, tomato, and onion.

To Serve: You will need 2 individual plates. Divide the celery root puree between the 2 plates and place a piece of chicken on top of each. Divide the salad between the two plates, arranging it on top of the chicken. Drizzle the Mornay on top of everything and serve with lemon wedges to sprinkle on top.

For more classy cooking, and wonderful photos like these, check out An Edible Mosaic.