CRISPY CORNMEAL CRUSTED CHICKEN
(with turnip/spinach puree & French butter sauce)

I so enjoyed the recent Wall Street Journal article on butter and all the different varieties available. What I really enjoyed was the section on how chefs always have prepared compound butter using various ingredients on hand at room temperature to finish off a dish. Inspired by that, I used a French-style compound butter to top a super simple chicken recipe. For the vegetables I roasted baby turnips and pureed them with some fresh spinach from the Farmers Market and my garden.
Amazingly easy and delish!

Ingredients:
Chicken:
4 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 cups medium cornmeal
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 egg
1 cup olive oil
juice from one lemon or orange
1 tsp each salt & pepper
1 tsp cumin (optional)

Vegetables:
*6 small heads of white baby turnip (approximately 2”) washed and quartered (They are so sweet and I cannot wait to grow them)
6 – 8 cloves of garlic
2-3 shallots peeled and quartered lengthwise
1 cup fresh spinach

French Butter Sauce – I recommend experimenting with it—there are countless ways to adjust it to complement any dish you’re serving. Great to prepare ahead.
1/3 cup room temperature butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp finely chopped tarragon
1 tbsp minced shallots
zest of a lemon
salt & pepper to taste

In a medium heavy saucepan, combine all ingredients, bring to a simmer and set aside.

Preparing the vegetables
Warm oven to 425
In a bowl toss turnip, garlic cloves and shallots with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.
Place on a cast iron skillet or foil lined cookie sheet.
Bake in oven for approximately 20 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly.
While chicken is cooking, puree the vegetables with the fresh spinach.
Keep warm in a pyrex dish in oven.

Preparing the chicken:
In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg, olive oil and juice.
In another bowl combine the cornmeal, parmesan, salt, pepper and cumin.
Pat dry the chicken and dip in egg mixture. Then roll to cover allover with the cornmeal mixture.
Heat a cast iron pan lightly coated with olive oil.
Once hot sear each breast approximately 6-8 minutes each side depending on the thickness.
To served, spread the vegetable mixture on the top of the plate, then the sauce and the chicken on top. I added extra onion greens as an accent.

Bon Appétit