Pan Seared Airline Chicken with Prosciutto Ham Sauce

The first time I flew on an airplane, we dressed for the occasion. People smoked cigarettes in their seats, drank cocktails, and a proper chicken dinner arrived on a tray – an airline breast. I thought it was fancy then, and perhaps it’s that memory that still makes the cut feel special. I butchered a whole chicken this way for the first time in my late twenties, during a knife-skills session with a local chef. This is still how I like to cook. I’ll cut up 2 whole chickens, use what I need for dinner, save the remaining pieces for another night, and turn the bones into chicken stock for the freezer. The chicken gets crisp and golden in the skillet, and the fond left behind becomes a quick sauce with shallots, prosciutto, wine and that homemade stock. Nothing particularly complicated – just a handful of techniques that, somewhere along the way, became instinct.

• 4 airline chicken breasts (boneless breast, skin-on, with the first wing joint attached
• olive oil – enough to coat the skillet

I like to butcher the chicken the morning of, or even the night before, pat it very dry, and leave it uncovered in the refrigerator. Drying the skin this way gives you that beautifylly crisp, golden finish when it hits the hot skillet.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring chicken to room temperature. In a sauté pan, heat olive oil, sear chicken, skin side down, until golden. Turn and transfer to a baking dish and finish cooking (to 160 degrees) in the oven. Remove and set aside and keep warm.

QUICK PAN SAUCE

• 1 thin slice proscuitto
• 1 shallot – sliced
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 TBS butter – unsalted
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In the sauté pan, add sliced shallots and cook on medium until caramelized, then add prosciutto. Deglaze pan with white wine, reduce, by half add chicken stock, reduce by half, strain. Off the heat, whisk in butter.

Tomato Concasse

• heirloom grape tomatoes
• 1 shallot – minced
• 1 clove garlic – minced
• 2 tbs red wine vinegar (I like Regina)
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Blanch, peel and slice tomatoes – set aside. Combine shallots, garlic and red wine vinegar. Whisk in olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon over tomatoes.

Served here with crowder peas and spinach salad. Rinse fresh spinach, remove the stems and toss leaves with a few tablespoons of the tomato vinaigrette.

KABIE PLATES

Lightly dress spinach with homemade vinaigrette and place a small bunch on a large white plate. Nestle a small spoonful of crowder peas next to the lettuce. Place the chicken slightly on the spinach, giving it a little height. Spoon the tomato concasse on top of the chicken, letting some fall down onto the plate. At the table, pour a little bit of the sauce directly onto the plate.