City Fried Chicken

This is called City Fried Chicken because it's not traditional southern fried chicken—in fact, it's completely different—but it's just as good. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are butter-flied, lightly pounded, dipped in an egg batter with parsley and Parmesan, and then gently fried: richly rewarding flavor for very little culinary effort. It's a great dish when you're entertaining because it looks so dressed-up and citified.

Ingredients:

1	pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 8 pieces and lightly pounded
	Coarse-grained salt and cracked black pepper
2	large egg whites
2	2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4	cup chopped fresh parsley
1	cup all-purpose flour, for dusting
2	teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1	lemon, cut into 8 wedges

	Season chicken generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Beat egg whites in a shallow dish or plate. Whisk in cheese and parsley. Place flour in a separate shallow dish or plate. Coat each chicken piece in the egg-white mixture and set in the flour. Shake the dish to coat chicken pieces, turn chicken over, and repeat. Put chicken on a large plate in a single layer.
	Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick pan over medium-high heat. When hot but not smoking, add chicken and cook, turning once, until golden and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Serve with lemon wedges.
	Veggie Side in a Hurry: When you're done cooking the chicken, throw some precooked green beans, peas, asparagus, or carrot coins into the pan with a little lime juice and chicken broth and make a quick pan sauce. You can use raw veggies if you slice or dice them small enough to cook quickly.
	If the Queen's Coming to Dinner: Cut and butterfly the chicken breasts, then lightly pound them. It makes for a prettier presentation, because the chicken pieces mirror each other in shape and size, like a butterfly's wings.

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