Chicken Paillards w/ Lemon Butter Sauce

recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart Living magazine

2 chicken breasts
salt
pepper
extra virgin olive oil
butter
shallot
2 lemons
3/4 c chicken broth or stock
spinach

From what I understand, Chicken Paillards is a fancy way of saying “cut a chicken breast in half and then beat it flat with a rolling pin”.

Now that we got that out of the way…

Season 4 chicken paillards (from 2 breast halves) on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until butter foams. Add 2 paillards, and sauté on 1 side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Flip, and sauté paillards until cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Raise heat to medium-high, and repeat with  remaining paillards.

Add 1/4 cup minced or sliced shallots to skillet, and cook over medium heat, adding oil or butter as needed, stirring often, until golden, about 1 minute. Raise heat to medium-high. Add segments and juice of 2 lemons, 3/4 cup chicken broth or stock and any plate juices. Deglaze the pan, scraping brown bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Simmer until sauce reduces by half, about 3 minutes. Gradually stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (cut into small pieces) until just melted. Season to taste.

The recipe says to serve chicken and sauce over a bed of spinach. Like in the picture above. However, I decided I liked it better adding the spinach straight in the pan with the sauce. Turning it with a pair of tongs in the sauce until it wilts. Plus, it shrinks up so much as it wilts…you can just keep adding more spinach and get more veggies that way

The recipe adds:

Lemon segments give this dish great flavor. To segment the lemon, cut away all the peel and white pith. Then slice along the membranes. 
I got got the juice out of 1.5 of the lemons and then cut segments out from the left over half…without cutting the peal and pith.

If you read this recipe and it doesn’t make sense…feel free to comment and ask me to clarify! Enjoy!