I’ve made a few renditions of this dish in the past (chicken coated with a breaded mixture, then baked), but so far, this one has been the winner. Instead of buying the big bag of boneless, skinless chicken breasts at Costco, lately I’ve been getting the boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders. These are easier to portion out for the two of us and they cook up a lot quicker. I just wish Costco sold organic chicken breast, that’d be nice .
I found this recipe from a Martha Stewart Cookbook that I’ve had for a few years. This is the first recipe I’ve tried out of it and it was a great success! There was just a hint of spiciness from the red pepper flakes and I think the red wine vinegar gave it an extra kick that is usually not present in breaded chicken. The recipe usually calls for a whole chicken cut up, but the chicken tenders are so much easier. When I had browsed through this book in the past, I always felt a little intimated at some of the recipes and techniques, but as I read more closely, there are a lot of promising dishes in there. My version, inspired by Martha, is listed below.
Baked Crisp Pecorino Romano Chicken About 3 servings
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 garlic clove, minced
9 to 10 boneless, skinless chicken tenders, thawed
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (can also use Parmesan)
1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
Whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes, oregano and garlic in a 9×13- inch baking dish. Add the chicken to the marinade in the dish, turning each piece to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together the bread crumbs, cheese, parsley and pepper in a medium bowl. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray foil with cooking spray.
Dredge each chicken tender in the bread crumb mixture to coat; shake off excess. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Bake the chicken until the bread crumbs are golden and the chicken is cooked through, about 22 minutes, turning over the chicken once halfway through baking. Using tongs or a spatula, loosen the chicken from the sheet before serving.