Ingredients
- 2 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts or chicken tenders
- 12 pound large shiitake mushrooms
- 1 cup flour, or more, for dredging
- 3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or more if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- 2 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts or chicken tenders
- 12 pound large shiitake mushrooms
- 1 cup flour, or more, for dredging
- 3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or more if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- 3 tablespoon soft butter
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1 cup white wine
- 6 cup fresh sage leaves
- 3/4 cup grated grana padano cheese
- 1 cup hot simple vegetable broth or stock, if needed
Preparation
Baking Directions:
For chicken and mushrooms:Place a rack in the center or upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees.
If the chicken breasts are whole, cut them in half.
Trim off any bits of fat, skin or tendon.
Flatten each breast half with a mallet (or the flat bottom of a heavy pan) to an even thickness, about 3/4-inch.
Trim the stem and wash the mushrooms caps and pat them dry.
Put 3 tablespoons of the olive oil into the skillet, tilt to coat the bottom and set it over medium heat.
Toss the mushroom caps in flour to coat well, pat off any excess, and lay them into the pan.
Keep the heat moderate and let the pieces caramelize slowly for about 4 minutes.
Turn when the edges are nicely browned on the underside; fry for about 2 minutes on the second side.
With a slotted spatula, lift the mushrooms to a plate or tray with paper towels and salt lightly.
Fry the remaining mushroom caps in the same way and salt them.
When the mushrooms are done, turn off the heat but leave all the oil in the skillet.
On the stovetop:Have all of your gratinate and sauce ingredients handy to the stove.
You should have at least 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the skillet (add a bit if needed).
Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and set the pan over low-medium heat.
Salt the chicken pieces lightly, flop them in the dredging flour to coat on both sides, and pat off excess.
When the butter is just beginning to sizzle, arrange all six cutlets in the pan.
Cook them gently for a minute and a half, and then turn them over: they should be very lightly colored, with no browning.
Maintain the gentle cooking while you assemble the gratinate.
Sprinkle the chicken again with salt (using 1/2 teaspoon total for the dish).
Spread a heaping tablespoon of Marinara sauce on top of each cutlet.
Arrange the mushroom caps on top of the sauced chicken, use 2 mushroom caps per piece of chicken.
Now raise the heat a bit and begin to develop the sauce:Drop the remaining butter, in small pieces, in between the layered cutlets.
After a few seconds, pour in 2/3 cup of the wine around the cutlets and let it heat briefly, 10 to 20 seconds.
Spoon the rest of the cup of Marinara sauce into the pan (not on the chicken).
Bring to a simmer, and then drop the sage into the sauce all around the pan.
Give the pan a gentle shake, or two, to mix and emulsify the sauce ingredients.
Finally, sprinkle two tablespoons of grated cheese evenly over each mushroom-topped mound.
At this point, the sauce should be about 1/3-inch deep in your pan or even higher, coming well up the sides of the chicken cutlets.
If not, pour in the rest of the wine and as much hot water or stock as necessary.
Raise the heat again to bring the pan sauce to an active simmer.