Chicken Paillards with Artichoke Hearts and Sherry
Serves 4
In the 1990s, there was a great little Spanish restaurant called Barcelona Cafe down on Broadway. This is an elegant and easy chicken dish from that long-gone establishment.
You should be able to find an Oloroso sherry at a good liquor store, and it’s worth seeking out. The wine is nutty, rich-tasting, and quite dry, and makes the sauce much more interesting than it would be with grocery store sherry.
Ingredients #
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts (10-14 pieces)
- 3/4 cup Oloroso-style sherry
- 1 stick butter, cut into pieces
- 1-2 tbsp chopped parsley
Instructions #
Season the flour with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Put it on a plate for dredging.
Use a meat mallet to pound each piece of chicken to a uniform 1/4-inch thickness, being careful not to tear the paillards. Dredge them lightly in the seasoned flour and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the garlic and 1/2 tsp black pepper, and cook until fragrant (30 seconds). Add the chicken and saute until lightly browned, 1-2 minutes on each side. Add the artichoke hearts.
Carefully pour the sherry into the pan, standing back in case the alcohol evaporates. Cook to evaporate the alcohol and reduce the wine. Be sure that the wine is well-reduced - you only want a couple of tablespoons of sauce for each serving.
Remove from heat, and add butter a couple of bits at a time, swirling in, until the sauce is thickened slightly. Add the parsley and serve.