Another specialty of my father’s that I absolutely loved was a thin pounded chicken breast baked in individual cazuelas with Sherry and butter and topped with mozzarella.
His original version was made with veal, which as a teenager I flatly refused to eat, so he adapted the recipe to chicken breast. I absolutely loved the molten, slightly browned mozzarella back then too, but these days I tend to leave it off for a faster, healthier alternative.
Chicho’s Sherry Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup beef or chicken broth
- 2/3 cup dry sherry
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 4 slices mozzarella cheese optional
- minced parsley to top
- flour for dredging
Instructions
- Pound or slice the chicken breasts into thin pieces, and lightly dredge on flour.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Melt the butter in a skillet with the olive oil. Quickly brown the chicken on both sides, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove them from skillet and place in individual warmed cazuelas.
- Add Sherry, broth, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and garlic to the pan and bring to a simmer, scraping up anything stuck to the pan. Simmer 5-7 minutes until reduced by about half.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken. Top with a slice of cheese and bake in the oven 5 minutes until bubbling and melted. You may want to use the broiler briefly at the end to brown the cheese lightly.
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
If you leave out the cheese, you can add some other alternatives too, such as capers, chopped spinach, or fresh peas. You’re going to want some bread for the sauce too.