As a child walking into an Italian restaurant in San Francisco’s North Beach district, I would put on a brave face and glue myself to my father’s side. A cacophony of sensations would accost my nose, my ears, and my staring eyeballs. The smell of stale red wine overlaid with steaming starch. Preoccupied waitresses shoving their heavy bodies through the thick yellow air, moving from table to table with armloads of bread and heaping plates of sea creatures smoldering under garlic and basil. Greasy overhead speakers thumping from their tattered baffles; a dishwasher roaring in the back; and overlaying all, the incessant thudding of a wooden mallet slamming a defenseless piece of chicken or veal. Indifferent to my concern, my father would smile. “Howard!” the restaurant owner would bellow, wading through the crowd to deliver a tumbler of red wine. And the two would launch into boisterous talk about herbs and oils and salt, my dad gesturing appreciatively to the monster with the wood mallet and saying, “Yes, yes, chicken very thin.” For much of my childhood, I thought the measure of a good restaurant was the ferocity of the butcher up front pounding flesh, and the ensuing experience of meat so wonderfully tender and mild that it melted away the world’s hazards. With a flourish of flake salt to accentuate the play of texture and savor on the palate, this paillard is quick, easy, and enormously satisfying. If you like, substitute veal cutlets for the chicken, using Italian parsley in place of the tarragon.

　　

Ingredients

serves 2

　　2 split chicken breast halves

　　1 tablespoon olive oil

　　1 shallot, minced

　　1 tablespoon coarsely torn fresh tarragon leaves

　　1/2 cup white wine

　　2 tablespoons unsalted butter

　　1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

　　2 two-finger pinches coarse flake salt, such as Marlborough flakey, Maldon, or The Meadow Flake

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 225°F. Coat the chicken breast halves with a thin film of olive oil. Place each chicken breast half on a sheet of foil, cover with another sheet of foil, and pound with the bottom of a heavy skillet or a flat meat pounder until very thin (about 1/8 inch thick) and the size of a small dinner plate.

　　

Step 2

Heat a large skillet (preferably cast iron) until very hot. Coat the skillet with a thin film of oil. Remove one sheet of foil from one of the pounded chicken breasts.Using the remaining foil sheet to support the chicken, lift it on one palm and flip it over (chicken side down) into the hot pan. Remove the foil. Cook just until opaque, about 30 seconds per side.

　　

Step 3

When the chicken is done, transfer it to a plate and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining piece of chicken.

　　

Step 4

Turn down the heat to medium-low. Coat the skillet with a thin film of olive oil and sauté the shallot until transparent, about 45 seconds. Add the tarragon and the white wine. Turn up the heat to medium-high and boil until the liquid is lightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and swirl in the butter.

　　

Step 5

Season the chicken with the pepper and drizzle the sauce over the top. Serve immediately, finishing each plate with a flourish of flake salt.

　　Salted