Chicken Paillards With Corn Salad

This recipe is courtesy of Florence Fabricant, originally published in The New York Times. Photo is by Craig Lee.

"This recipe brings together leafy herbs, the whisper of sweetness in fresh corn and summer squash, a ripe tomato, and a splash of lemon, creating a salad with farm-stand allure. It is served it with chicken paillards, and the meal would go great with a bottle of dry German riesling." — Florence Fabricant

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, about 1¼ pounds, pounded thin
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 2 ears corn, kernels stripped
• 1 jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
• 1 medium-size yellow summer squash, diced
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 medium yellow tomato, diced
• ⅓ cup flour
• 2 tbsp minced cilantro leaves

Preparation:

Mix mustard and ¼ cup lemon juice in a shallow dish. Cut each chicken breast in half (lengthwise, so you have two thin filets) and place in the mustard mixture. Turn to coat both sides and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet, add onion and sauté on low a few minutes, until softened. Add corn, chile and squash and continue to cook until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, fold in tomato, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and set aside.

Remove chicken from marinade, dust with flour and season with salt and pepper. Heat remaining oil in a large cast-iron skillet or grill pan on medium-high heat and sear chicken, turning once, until lightly browned and just cooked through, about 5 minutes a side. Arrange on a serving platter. Add cooking oil to salad, fold in cilantro and spoon over and around chicken.