Buttermilk Chicken Breasts with Fennel Salad
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This dinner salad features tender sliced buttermilk-marinated chicken breasts served over a lemony shaved fennel, arugula, and cannellini bean salad. Fresh and simple!
When I first created this recipe I was thinking of tagliata, a simple Italian dish of thinly sliced beef served with a tangle of arugula and shaved Parmigiano cheese.
I switched out the beef for thin chicken breast cutlets, or pieces of boneless chicken that are pounded thin. They’re great for a fast, fuss-free meal. They take just a few minutes to cook and you can serve them with a fresh salad.
A secret for tender chicken
Pounding chicken tenderizes the protein structure of the meat. Plus it evens out the thickness of the chicken breasts so that they’ll cook more evenly, which is key to dishes like breaded chicken cutlets.
I use the smooth side of the pounder to make the chicken flat and even. After pounding, the breasts marinate in a tasty blend of fresh basil, fennel seeds, lemon and tangy buttermilk, adding lots of flavor and tenderizing a step further.
I usually make this quick-cooking chicken recipe right on the stovetop using this heavy grill pan. But if outdoor grilling is an option for you, by all means fire it up!
The fennel salad
To make this a complete main dish salad, I made an crisp arugula salad by mixing in some shaved fresh fennel, cannellini beans seasoned with lemon and olive oil.
Buttermilk Chicken Breasts with Fennel Salad
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (60 ml) buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons (60 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons (60 ml) olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel or Italian seasoning
- 1 small garlic clove, grated or finely chopped
- ½ cup fresh basil or parsley leaves, chopped
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound chicken breast cutlets , or boneless, skinless chicken breasts (see note below)
Fennel Salad
- 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and very thinly sliced
- 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained
- 2 cups (40 g) baby arugula or spinach leaves
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup shaved or grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Whisk the buttermilk, lemon juice, olive oil, fennel or Italian seasoning, garlic, basil or parsley, red pepper and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add the chicken, turning to coat. Marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes, or refrigerate up to 2 hours in advance.
- Heat a heavy skillet (such as cast iron) over medium high heat until the pan is very hot (a few drops of water should sizzle and instantly evaporate). Drizzle in about a tablespoon of oil. Cook chicken until it's no longer pink inside, about 3 minutes per side. You might have to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan.
Make the fennel salad:
- Put the fennel, cannellini beans, and arugula in a salad bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste and toss to coat.
Serving:
- Slice chicken ½-inch thick. Serve the salad on plates with the sliced chicken on top, then sprinkle with Parmesan shavings or grated Parmesan.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Butterfly the chicken: With the breasts facing you lengthwise, cut ¾ through the center of thicker, long side of each chicken breast and open flat. Pound to an even thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap. Put the chicken in a large shallow baking dish. Instead of butterflying the chicken breasts at home buy ready-to-cook, thin-cut chicken cutlets in some markets.
- Marinate the chicken up to 2 hours ahead. The chicken will take less than 10 minutes to cook.
- You can cook the chicken on the stovetop or fire up your outdoor grill.
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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Looks delicious and a perfect dish for summer–prize winner or not!
Very fun!! Good luck. I can’t wait to hear all about it!
That looks and sounds like the grand-prize winner to me! All the best, good luck (you don’t need luck, you got skillz), and let us know! So exciting!
Your new photo is wonderful, too.
Good luck !! Your pasta chicken is very good, it’s so delicious
Good luck! It sounds fantastic. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed.
Karen this is so exciting and your dish sounds great to me! Good luck and I look forward to hearing the post-game wrap-up!
Good luck, Karen! I’ll be cheering you long-distance!
Thanks KC and Lynn!
And Anonymous, thanks for the tip. You’re absolutely right about presentation, but taste overrides everything.
Your salad looks delicious. Good luck at the competition!
Good luck!!!
the dish sounds delicious but you need to work on the plating/presentation. From what I ve seen that counts for alot at these competions.