From Lidia's Commonsense Italian Cooking

Gratinata di Pollo e Funghi

When you’re talking about chicken, everybody today assumes you are talking about chicken breasts. But I happen to feel that chicken breasts can be awfully dry if not cooked properly. This recipe, when done right, retains moisture in the breast, and the combination of ingredients gives it a rich and savory complexity of flavors. All you need to serve with it is a tossed salad, and you have a complete meal.

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

• 6 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 ounces each)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 12 large shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 6 fresh sage leaves
• 1⁄2 cup white wine
• 1⁄2 cup prepared tomato sauce
• 6 tablespoons grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

METHOD

1. Pound the chicken to about 1⁄2-inch thickness (or butterfly to the same thickness). Season the chicken with 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt. Dredge the chicken lightly in the flour and tap off any excess.
2. In a large cast-iron skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Lightly brown the chicken on both sides, about 2 minutes per side, then remove to a plate.
3. Once the chicken is out of the skillet, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, mushroom caps, and garlic. Season with the remaining 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt. Drizzle with 1⁄4 cup of water, and cook until the mushrooms are softened and the water evaporates, about 4 minutes.
4. Slide the mushrooms to the side, and put the chicken back in the pan, in one layer, and arrange two mushroom caps on top of each piece. Increase the heat to medium-high, and add the sage leaves and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, in pieces, in the spaces in the pan. Pour the white wine and tomato sauce into the spaces in the pan as well.
5. Sprinkle each chicken breast with 1 tablespoon of the grated cheese. Cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to reduce the sauce to your liking, and serve.

Excerpted from Lidia's Commonsense Italian Cooking.

Copyright © 2013 Lidia Matticchio Bastianich with Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Published by Appetite by Random House, which is a division of Random House of Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.