Chicken Francaise

I love food from the Mediterranean and especially dishes from Italy.  While searching for a delicious Chicken Francaise recipe, my mother-in-law stumbled upon this recipe by Joel Mielle at Recipe30.  Joel’s recipe is pretty authentic which is why it was so appealing.  On Weight Watchers, I couldn’t make it the way he suggested so I set out to make it much more diet friendly by reducing the amounts of some ingredients and made a few substitutions to lighten it up but keep the rich Italian flavors.  According to Joel, Chicken Francese was actually created right here in America by Italian immigrants to substitute veal for chicken.  I hope that you love this dish as much as my family and I did tonight.

Chicken Francaise

4 Servings
6 Weight Watcher Freestyle Points

Ingredients:

• 16 oz uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), 4 oz breasts, pounded thin and dried off
• ¹⁄₄ cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 2 egg(s)
• ¹⁄₄ tsp table salt
• ¹⁄₈ tsp black pepper
• ¹⁄₈ tsp garlic powder
• ¹⁄₃ cup(s) fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 oz grated Parmesan cheese (fresh Parmesan should be grated it right before you use it)
• 2 spray(s)cooking spray (I used Butter Flavored Pam)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• ¹⁄₂ cup(s) white wine
• 1 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth
• 2 medium clove(s) garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp regular butter
• 1 lemon(s), Juiced, about 2 Tbsp.

Equipment:

• Parchment Paper or Wax Paper
• Meat Mallet
• Frying Pan

Directions:

1.  If you haven’t already, you will need to split and then flatten the chicken breasts.  Each chicken breast is more than likely around 8 oz each.  Rinse and dry the breasts.  On a cutting board, hold a sharp knife along the thick part of the breast, with your hand on top, slice through the breast creating two smaller breast portions.  Place each 4 oz piece of chicken in between two pieces of parchment or wax paper and flatten with the flat side of a meat mallet or underside of a flat pan.

2. In a bowl, that will be large enough to fit each chicken breast, beat the two eggs and add the salt, pepper, 1/2 the parsley, and Parmesan.

3.  Spray the frying pan with two sprays of cooking spray.  Add the olive oil and set the pan to medium-high heat (I had mine set at 7).

4.  Place the flour on a plate.   One at a time, coat the chicken in the flour (shake off excess flour).  Dip the chicken into the egg mixture (make sure it is submerged and egg is all over the chicken).

5. Place chicken in hot frying pan oil.  Cook chicken for about 4 minutes on each side.  Transfer chicken to a hot plate to rest.

6. Turn the frying pan on high heat.  Add the white wine and deglaze the pan by scraping up all of the crunchy bits on the bottom.  Add the chicken broth, garlic, lemon juice, butter, and the remainder of the parsley.  Boil for 4-5 minutes to reduce.

7. Turn the heat down to medium and add chicken back in.  Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

8. Serve the chicken and spoon sauce over breasts.  Enjoy!

Chicken Francaise

 

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

6 Weight Watchers Freestyle Points

Author: Donna Anthony

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 16 oz uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), 4 oz breasts, pounded thin and dried off
• 1⁄4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 2 egg(s)
• 1⁄4 tsp table salt
• 1⁄8 tsp black pepper
• 1⁄8 tsp garlic powder
• 1⁄3 cup(s) fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 oz grated Parmesan cheese (fresh Parmesan should be grated it right before you use it)
• 2 spray(s) cooking spray (I used Butter Flavored Pam)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1⁄2 cup(s) white wine
• 1 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth
• 2 medium clove(s) garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp regular butter
• 1 lemon(s), Juiced, about 2 Tbsp.
• Equipment:
• Parchment Paper or Wax Paper
• Meat Mallet
• Frying Pan

Directions

1. If you haven't already, you will need to split and then flatten the chicken breasts.  Each chicken breast is more than likely around 8 oz each.  Rinse and dry the breasts.  On a cutting board, hold a sharp knife along the thick part of the breast, with your hand on top, slice through the breast creating two smaller breast portions.  Place each 4 oz piece of chicken in between two pieces of parchment or wax paper and flatten with the flat side of a meat mallet or underside of a flat pan.
2. In a bowl, that will be large enough to fit each chicken breast, beat the two eggs and add the salt, pepper, ½ the parsley, and Parmesan.
3. Spray the frying pan with two sprays of cooking spray.  Add the olive oil and set the pan to medium-high heat (I had mine set at 7).
4. Place the flour on a plate.   One at a time, coat the chicken in the flour (shake off excess flour).  Dip the chicken into the egg mixture (make sure it is submerged and egg is all over the chicken).
5. Place chicken in hot frying pan oil.  Cook chicken for about 4 minutes on each side.  Transfer chicken to a hot plate to rest.
6. Turn the frying pan on high heat.  Add the white wine and deglaze the pan by scraping up all of the crunchy bits on the bottom.  Add the chicken broth, garlic, lemon juice, butter, and the remainder of the parsley.  Boil for 4-5 minutes to reduce.
7. Turn the heat down to medium and add chicken back in.  Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Serve the chicken and spoon sauce over breasts.  Enjoy!

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