Grilled Chicken Paillard with Avocado Tomato Salad - Summer Eating!

This is a core technique that is the base for a lifetime of simple delicious meals that are fast to the table and will keep you in your skinny jeans. Its a Chef 101 technique - making a thinly pounded flash sauteed chicken cutlet that is also called a PAILLARD in French. (pronounced pie-ARRD)

I could eat this meal every day all through the blistering hot summer. It only takes a few minutes once you have practiced flattening the chicken breasts. The hot juicy chicken cutlet is the base for a cool salad or salsa. The oil and lime dressing cuts through the bit of olive oil used to cook your chicken.

Make a chicken pillared and top with ANY of the gorgeous salads we make on our site. Grandmas Cucumber Salad or Greek Salad or Big Ole Tomato Salad or Summer Corn Salad with Buttermilk Vinaigrette or Mango Jicama Salad or Caesar Salad. See how this works, Ive just given you suppers for an entire week!

Absolutely fabulous.

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves with the tenders removed
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1 ripe avocado, diced
• 1/ 2 cup diced ripe tomato, I usually have grape tomatoes, or golf ball sized Campari tomatoes and either halve or dice them for this type of dish
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• Juice of one lime - 2 tablespoons

• Using a sharp knife, make a straight vertical cut down the center of the chicken breast, BUT only slice about half of the way through the thickness.
• Holding your knife at an angle, start to open up one side of the breast half so it will lay flat - open each half like a book. Turn the breast half around and repeat to open up the other side.
• Spread both sides of the breast open and pound to equal thickness with the flat side of a meat mallet or small heavy pan. I cover my butterflied chicken with a piece of plastic wrap and use a wine bottle to gently flatten the meat. Repeat with other chicken breast half.
• Season the flattened cutlets on both sides with salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the butter foams.
• Add the chicken and sauté on one side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Flip and leave to cook until just cooked through. Transfer to serving plates.
• IF you would like to grill your chicken, preheat grill to medium high, brush both sides of the chicken cutlet with the blended olive oil and butter, season with salt and pepper. Place on grill, turn, cook until just cooked through and transfer to serving plates.
• Add avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro,, lime juice, olive oil, a big pinch of salt and pepper to a large salad bowl and gently toss to combine. Pile half on top of each plated chicken paillard.