Lidia Bastianich's Chicken Breast with Eggplant and Fontina Cheese

By joejudy

Ingredients

• 1 Medium eggplant (about 1 1/4 pounds)
• Salt
• 6 six-ounce boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
• freshly ground Black Pepper
• 6 slices (about 3 ounces) imported Italian Prosciutto (cut in half)
• 6 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 tablespoons Butter
• All-Purpose Flour for dredging
• 6 peeled cloves Garlic
• 1/2 cup dry White Wine
• 1 about 1 cup hot Chicken Stock or canned Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1/2 cup canned Italian Plum Tomatoes (preferably San Marzano; seeded and chopped)
• 12 fresh Basil Leaves (optional - plus more for decorating plates)
• 6 ounces shredded Italian Fontina cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Grana Padano
• 2 tablespoons Tomato Sauce or liquid from the canned tomatoes

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from beta.abc.go.com

Preparation

Step 1

step 1

ingredients 1 Medium eggplant (about 1 1/4 pounds)
Salt

instructions Trim the stem from the eggplant. Remove strips of peel about 1 inch wide, leaving about half the peel intact, and cut the eggplant into 1-inch crosswise slices and sprinkle with salt.

step 2

ingredients 6 six-ounce boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
freshly ground Black Pepper
6 slices (about 3 ounces) imported Italian Prosciutto (cut in half)

instructions Cut each chicken breast in half on a bias, and lightly pound it. Season the chicken very lightly with salt and pepper (the prosciutto will give the dish plenty of salt as is), and layer each piece of chicken with half a slice of the prosciutto, tapping the prosciutto with the back of a knife so it adheres to the meat.

step 3

ingredients 6 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Butter
All-Purpose Flour for dredging

instructions Heat 4 tablespoons of the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy, wide skillet over medium heat. Dredge the chicken in flour to coat both sides lightly, tapping off excess flour, and add as many to the skillet, prosciutto side down, as will fit without overlapping. Cook just until the prosciutto is light golden, about 2 minutes. Turn, and cook until the second side is browned, about 2 minutes.

step 4

ingredients 6 peeled cloves Garlic

instructions Remove, and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining chicken, adding more oil if necessary. Dredge lightly the eggplant slices in flour and after removing the last piece of chicken from the skillet, pour in the remaining oil, and fry the eggplants slices on both sides until lightly browned, draining on paper towels as you are cooking the batches. When finished add the remaining olive oil and scatter the garlic in the skillet. Cook, turning, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. (Lower the heat, if necessary, so the bits of flour that stick to the pan don’t burn while the garlic is browning.)

step 5

ingredients 1/2 cup dry White Wine
about 1 cup hot Chicken Stock or canned Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
2 tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup canned Italian Plum Tomatoes (preferably San Marzano; seeded and chopped)

instructions Pour the wine into the skillet, bring to a boil, and boil until it’s almost completely evaporated. Pour in the stock, and drop in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Bring to a boil, stir in the chopped tomatoes, and boil until the sauce is lightly reduced and glossy, about 4 minutes.

step 6

ingredients 12 fresh Basil Leaves (optional - plus more for decorating plates)
6 ounces shredded Italian Fontina cheese
1/2 cup grated Grana Padano
2 tablespoons Tomato Sauce or liquid from the canned tomatoes

instructions Meanwhile, arrange the chicken scaloppine side by side in a baking dish. Cover them with the eggplant, cutting or tearing the slices as necessary to cover all the scaloppine more or less evenly, and top each with a leaf of basil. Toss the shredded Fontina and Grana Padano cheese and divide evenly over the eggplant, dotting the cheese with a dab of tomato sauce.

step 7

ingredients

instructions Spoon the pan sauce around the chicken, cover with a lid, and let it simmer until the cheese is melted and lightly browned in places and the sauce is lightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Transfer the bubbly chicken to serving plates, placing two on each. Spoon the sauce— through a strainer if you like— around the plates. Decorate the plates with additional basil leaves, if desired.

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