Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a baking dish large enough to hold all of your chicken breasts in a single layer with a light spritz of nonstick cooking spray.

2. Trim away as much excess fat and silver skin from the chicken breasts as you can, using kitchen shears. Pound the chicken breasts gently with a meat mallet so that they are approximately the same thickness throughout. This is necessary to keep the outsides from scorching before the insides are cooked to a safe temperature. Season both sides of the pounded chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

3. Crack an egg into a wide shallow bowl and add enough milk to cover the egg to a depth of about 1/4 inch. Add salt, pepper and the seasoning of your choice. Poultry seasoning goes well with this dish as do Italian seasoning and herbes de Provence. Whisk the egg, milk and seasonings together until they are creamy and smooth.

4. Fill a shallow dish with bread crumbs to a depth of 1/4 to 1/2 inch or so. If you are not using seasoned bread crumbs, season them with a bit of the herbs or spices you added to the milk. Flour doesn’t work as well as bread crumbs for this dish, though you can use it if that’s all you have at hand.

5. Coat the bottom of a skillet generously with oil. Canola oil or vegetable oil both work well for this dish. Heat the oil until it starts to shimmer.

6. Dip each pounded chicken breast into the seasoned egg and milk mixture and then roll them in the bread crumbs until they are completely coated. Place the coated chicken breasts into the hot oil. Cook them for no more than 2 to 3 minutes per side, or just long enough for the bread crumbs to form a golden crust.

7. Place the chicken breasts in a single layer in the oiled baking dish. Top each breast with thinly sliced mozzarella cheese. Any type of mozzarella will work, though soft, water-packed mozzarella will melt into a silkier, stretchier texture than either whole milk or part-skim mozzarella sold dry.

8. Sprinkle sliced olives into the baking dish and over the cheese-topped chicken. Any type of olives will do, though a mixture of Greek or Mediterranean olives will impart a stronger flavor than a milder type such as buttery Cerignola olives.

9. Bake the chicken for 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and turning golden on top. Check for doneness by inserting an instant-read thermometer into the thickest chicken breast. The chicken is done when the thermometer reads 165 F.