breaded Chicken Tapanade

As a man, it is in our DNA to not throw anything away.  I hear all the wives out there screaming right now and saying to their husbands, you got to read this post right now.  He has you pegged.  Well using leftovers is not a crime.  A lot of things are even better the next day as the flavors sink in even deeper.

How do you merge recipes you have already cooked.  A little ingenuity and a little bit of understanding of ingredients that should fit together.  Most times it works, but not always.  That doesn’t mean we should not try it.  I am, primarily, the guy who is going to eat the leftovers.  For this combination, I had my chicken Milanese and my eggplant, red pepper tapanade.  The tapanade had great vegetables with some great olive oil, a little bit of spice.  Top the chicken and a nice spin has arrived.

Recipe
Breaded Chicken and Eggplant Red Pepper Tapanade:
Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless, Chicken Breasts; sliced thin
12 oz Italian breadcrumbs
6 oz of shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp each salt and pepper
2 eggs, beaten
8 tbsp canola oil

Directions:
Set up a dredging station with beaten eggs in one bowl and all the breadcrumbs and the Parmesan cheese in a second bowl.  First, drop the chicken into the egg wash and let drip before dropping into the breadcrumbs.  Then, place into the breadcrumbs and pat the crumbs into the breasts.  Drop slowly into the hot skillet.  I had a full layer of oil in the pan and used 2 pans to avoid the oil from getting the burnt crumbs left behind in the cooking process.  Cook 2 – 3 minutes per side.  The breasts will brown more while place on the cooling rack.  Preheat oven to 275 degrees and cook the breasts for 8 -10 more minutes.

Ingredients:

1 Medium Eggplant
2 Red Peppers
1 Red Onion
2 Garlic Cloves
5 tbsp Gaea Olive Oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Directions:
Start buy peeling the eggplant and cutting into 1″ cubes.  Follow by cutting the red peppers and the onion into 1 ” cubes as well.  Remember to seed the peppers.

In a separate bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and mix well.  Pour the vegetables into the bowl and coat well.  Remove to a roasting pan and bake for 35 – 40 minutes at 400 degrees.  The vegetables should be lightly browned and soft.

Let cool and place in your Cuisinart.  Pulse 3 or 4 times to leave more chunky.  Puree if you prefer.  Ina’s recipe calls for tomato paste which you will want to use especially if pureeing the vegetables.  Enjoy!