Plantain Crusted Chicken

Nope, this isn’t a recipe for chicken parm, although that’s what you’d think if you just saw the picture, but it was inspired by this Italian favorite. My hubby loves my chicken parm and loudly proclaims to anyone that will listen that he can never order it in a restaurant because my recipe is the best. It’s a rather cute compliment and he requests the dish all the time. I decided to mix things up a bit today by using Latin flavors. I knew I wanted to coat the chicken with plantains (one of my favorite ingredients lately!), and then it was only natural to top the plantain crusted chicken with salsa and cheddar cheese.

I told Apolinaras when I began making it that this could be a successful dish or a complete failure, because I wasn’t sure if the shredded plantains would stick to the chicken. I had three chicken breasts to play with and the first one didn’t turn out too well, because I didn’t have enough oil in the pan and the plantains stuck to the bottom. But, after adjusting for this problem, the second two came out perfectly! We usually cut our chicken parm pieces in half because they end up being so big, but Apolinaras ate a whole one, and then finished my extra half an hour later! We will definitely be adding this recipe into our chicken rotation.

Plantain Crusted Chicken
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 yellow plantains
2 chicken breasts
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Peel and shred plantains (I used the attachment on my food processor, they will be rather moist).

Place chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound with a flat mallet, until they are about 1/2-inch thick. Put the flour and salt in a shallow dish and mix well. Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken in the flour, and then use a spoon to spread the shredded plantains on one side.

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat in a small nonstick skillet. Place the chicken, plantain side down, in the pan. While the first side of chicken cooks, coat the top side of the chicken with shredded plantains. Turn the chicken over after two to four minutes, or until plantains are golden brown. Repeat with the remaining side and transfer to a 13×9-inch baking pan. Pour remaining tablespoon oil into the pan and repeat with the remaining chicken breast.

Evenly spread the salsa over the plantain crusted chicken and then evenly sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350˚F for 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and cheese is melted. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 371 calories, 12.3g fat, 2.5g fiber, 32.6g protein per serving
Cost: $1.06 per serving