Good morning y’all from the Hungry Southern Belle house!  Goodness… I know I’m a bit behind in posting and appreciate everyone’s patience in waiting for a new post.  With that in mind, this is definitely an awesome one to thank you for your wait!  I ran across this recipe in two different locations – Bon Appetit and Inspiralized.com  I love both sources for recipes, so I figured why not give it a shot!  It sure sounds fancy doesn’t it and the presentation was just gorgeous!  Paillard, in the cooking world, means to pound the meat thin.  So in this case, it was thinly pound chicken breasts.  This was beautifully paired with the Asian pear slaw.  The slaw offered the perfect blend of tartness from the pear with the sweetness of the honey and the heat of jalapeno.  This was perfect for a cozy dinner at home paired with a rainbow quinoa or for an evening entertaining with friends.  Enjoy y’all!

Chicken Paillards with Asian Pear Salad

Ingredients:

• For the dressing:

  • ½ teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
  • salt and pepper, to taste

• For the rest:

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 thin, boneless chicken breasts (or pound 1 chicken breast to ¼” thickness and slice in half)
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 medium Asian pear
  • 2 celery stalks, very thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup packed cilantro leaves
  • 1/4 cup roasted cashews, roughly chopped

Instructions:

1. Place all of the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and toss to combine. Set aside.
2. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place a large skillet over medium heat and add in half of the olive oil. Once oil heats, add in one of the chicken breasts and cook for 2-3 minutes, flip over and cook another 2-3 minutes or until chicken breast is cooked through and no longer pink. Repeat with the remaining olive oil and the other chicken breast.
3. Once chicken is done, spiralize the pear, using Blade C and place in a bowl with the celery and cilantro. Pour over the dressing and toss to combine.
4. Assemble the plates. Place a chicken breast in the middle of the plate and then top with pear salad. Top with cashews.