Chicken Breast in Cheese Crust

Serves 2
¾ lb (2 pieces) boneless skinless chicken breast
2 oz semi-firm cheese (like Asiago, Manchego or Parmesan)
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 egg
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons vegetable (sunflower) oil

This dish is delicious while incredibly easy to make. The cheese crust really dresses up an otherwise boring chicken breast.

Place the chicken onto a cutting board with the smooth side up, cover with the plastic film and pound very thin. The film prevents the meat mallet from sticking to meat or tearing it.

Sprinkle with the salt.

Coarsely grate the cheese. Add the bread crumbs and mix well.  

This will create the cheese crust, and the cheese here needs to be more visible than the crumbs.

Pour the flour into a separate plate.

Break the egg into a bowl and stir well with a fork.

Pour the oil into a small frying pan and place over the medium fire.

Carefully roll the chicken in the flour all over.

Dip in the egg to make sure the chicken is completely covered.  

Lift it and hold to let the excess egg drain off.

Place into the plate with the cheese and bread crumb mixture and press on one side.  

Lift the meat and shake the plate so that the mixture is uniform again, then turn the meat over and press the other side into the mixture.

Place the chicken into the frying pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side.

Prepare and cook the second piece of the chicken in the same way. If you try to turn the meat over and feel that the cheese is sticking to the pan, let it cook for another 30 seconds and try turning it over again. Most likely you were trying to turn it over too soon – the cheese won’t stick to the pan when the meat is ready to be turned over.

You can use any hard cheese – it cooks well and doesn’t stick to the pan.

Serve with any side dish or a salad.