Chicken Breasts with Parmesan and Herbs

Salisbury Library has an awesome selection of cookery books, so while Ted browses in the children's section, I can usually be found not far away (keeping a watchful eye on him!) at the food and cookery shelves.  I can always find someghing I fancy looking and cooking through, and it means I can experiment with lots of different writers and recipes without spending huge amounts of money buying cookbooks I have nowhere to store.  It's a win-win situation.

This week I have out Lisa Faulker's second cookbook, The Way I Cook.  I'm not a huge Celebrity Masterchef fan, and didn't watch the series that she won, but I've always liked her as an actress, and she comes across very well in this book; friendly and down-to-earth.

So far I have made a couple of recipes from this book, a Leek & Garlic tart which, while delicious, didn't quite live up to Ottolenghi's amazing Caramelised Garlic Tart (from Plenty), and a lovely chicken breast dish which I want to remember, hence this blog post.  The recipe title is actually 'Chicken Breasts with Parmesan and Parsley' but as I have an illogical aversion to parsley I substituted it for thyme which was delicious.  I'd imagine that other herbs could be used too to good effect, perhaps rosemary, sage or oregano? 

Anyway, this recipe is incredibly simple and quick, and has the added bonus of being made from things that I pretty much always have in the fridge/freezer/cupboard, so I suspect it may become a staple in this household.  The recipe in the book is for 4, but as I cooked it for just 2 I have halved it here, although I've kept the lemon juice amount as written and would double it if I was cooking for 4:

2 chicken breast fillets
2 eggs, beaten
30g Parmesan cheese, grated
a small handful of chopped fresh herbs (see above), plus extra for serving
flour, for coating
oil, for frying
30g butter
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper

Wrap the chicken breasts in clingfilm and flatten by hitting with a rolling pin (fun!).

Put the beaten eggs, cheese, herbs and salt and pepper in a bowl and mix together.  Put the flour in another bowl.  Coat the chicken in flour first, tapping gently to remove any excess, then dip in the egg mixture.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the coated chicken breasts over a medium-high heat for about 5 minutes on each side.  Add the butter as you turn the chicken.

Set the chicken aside to rest, then add the lemon juice to the buttery oil in the pan.  This can be used as a dressing for a side salad, or a light sauce.

Lisa suggests serving this with spaghetti, but I served it with new potatoes.  Sprinkle with the extra herbs as you serve it.