Caprese Chicken Cutlets

With the season's last tomatoes and basil

I struggled all summer to find great tomatoes. Jersey beefsteaks, probably my favorite variety, usually start appearing at the greenmarket in late August; when I asked the farmers at Lani’s Farm, who typically deliver the market’s most beautiful, ruby-red Jerseys, they lamented that dodgy weather had made growing difficult this year.

Thankfully, the fall has been kinder than late summer, and there are some great tomatoes showing up at the tail end of the season. The beefsteaks are excellent right now, and I recommend taking full advantage in these last days.

For me, that’s meant the following approach: peel, chop, and marinate in salt overnight. It seasons the tomato and gives you a great stock of tomato water to use in soups and sauces. From there, you can use the chopped tomatoes as a garnish for nearly anything, dressing it up as you wish; I spiked them with fresh thyme, soy and Worcestershire sauce to spoon over a skirt steak, and I quickly seared them in butter and basil to create a light, Caprese-ish sauce for a chicken Milanese.

The recipe for that one is below. It’s not super-traditionally Caprese as there’s no mozzarella, but the grated parm is a lighter and more elegant accent for the tomatoes and basil. The trick, after you’ve fried your cutlet, is to caramelize some garlic and onions in butter and loosen it with the tomato water, along with a splash of vermouth or wine. At the last moment, add your tomatoes and basil, giving them just a swirl on high heat. It’ll be a very light sauce, with the tomatoes kept intact; spoon over your chicken and enjoy before it’s all squash and potatoes from here on out.

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Caprese Chicken Cutlet

Serves two

Ingredients

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced in half and pounded to half-inch thickness

• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs, pulsed in processor until moderately fine

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1 cup AP flour

• Peanut oil

• 1 quart tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped, generously salted and marinated overnight in fridge; can include 2-3 sliced garlic cloves and a couple sprigs of thyme. Reserve tomato water

• 1/2 sweet onion or 1 shallot, finely minced

• 2 garlic cloves, sliced

• 1 pat unsalted butter

• Dry vermouth or white wine

• 1 bunch basil leaves

• Handful of finely chopped thyme leaves, chives, etc.

• Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

Instructions

1. Set up a dredging station with 3 large plates or pans: flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs, in that order. Generously season each with salt and any dried herbs/spices.

2. Dredge each chicken breast; flour first, then eggs, then breadcrumbs, firmly pressing the breadcrumbs into the cutlet and making sure chicken is fully breaded.

3. Set a pan over medium heat and add sliced garlic, onion, butter and a splash of olive oil. When garlic and onions are cooked, increase heat to high; add splash of vermouth/wine. Once alcohol has cooked off, add the reserved tomato water and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Set a large Dutch oven, at least 3 quarts, over high heat. Fill approx. 2/3rds with oil. Heat until 350 degrees F.

5. Working in batches, fry the chicken until golden brown. Set on a wire-rimmed rack and immediately salt after removing from oil.

6. Once chicken is done, return the sauce pan to high heat. Add the tomatoes and basil and cook for a few minutes; add a splash of water to loosen the sauce. Salt and additional butter to taste. Tomatoes should be warmed through but intact and enrobed in light sauce.

7. Set the cutlet on serving place and spoon the tomatoes and sauce over the cutlet. Garnish with chopped thyme and herbs, EVOO, and grated parm.