Franceschina Recipes

FRANCESINHA (SUPER INDULGENT PORTUGUESE SANDWICH)

Steps:

• Make the sauce first by dissolving the cornstarch into the milk.
• Add all the other sauce ingredients and blend in food processor.
• Put it into a pan over low heat and add the bay leaf .
• Stir it until it starts to boil, remove bay leaf and then set aside.
• Assemble the sandwich saving 2 slices of cheese.
• Put the sandwich on a plate or shallow bowl and place the 2 slices of cheese on top.
• Pour the sauce over the sandwich (should be hot, so the cheese melts).
• Eat -- you may want a bib.

CHICKEN FRANCESE

Steps:

• In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper until blended. Place the flour in a separate bowl. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
• In a wide skillet, heat olive and vegetable oils over medium heat until shimmering.
• Working in batches to avoid crowding the pan, lightly dredge the chicken in flour and shake off any excess. Dip into egg batter, let excess batter drip back into the bowl and place in the skillet. Fry, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Adjust the heat as the cutlets cook so they brown slowly and evenly, with a steady bubbling. Transfer to the paper-towel-lined pan and repeat with remaining cutlets.
• When all cutlets are browned, remove the pan from the heat and pour off the oil. Wipe out the pan with paper towels. Return the pan to low heat.
• If making the lemon slices (if not, skip to Step 6 below): Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter and then scatter the lemon slices over the bottom of the pan. Cook, stirring gently occasionally, until the lemon slices are golden and browning around the edges, about 3 minutes. Scoop out the lemon slices and set them aside.
• Add 3 tablespoons of butter, the wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Boil until the liquid is syrupy, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour in the stock, bring to a boil and cook until thickened into a sauce, about 5 minutes. (It will thicken more when you add the cutlets.) Taste and adjust the seasonings with lemon, salt and pepper; it should be quite lemony and not too salty.
• Reduce the heat, tuck the cutlets into the pan and simmer very gently until the sauce is velvety and the chicken pieces are heated through, about 4 minutes. Turn the cutlets over occasionally in the sauce. Place the browned lemon slices on top. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve, spooning some of the sauce over each serving.

CHICKEN FRANCESA

Steps:

• Remove the tenderloin from each chicken breast half. Fillet each chicken breast half into 2 slices. Pound each piece of chicken, including the tenderloins, to 1/4-inch thickness. Place chicken in a bowl and pour in enough milk to completely cover chicken; soak for 30 minutes.
• Mix bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano cheese, and parsley together in a bowl. Remove chicken from milk and dredge through bread crumb mixture until each piece is evenly coated.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook chicken in the hot oil until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly butter a baking dish.
• Transfer chicken to the prepared baking dish, reserving 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet. Sprinkle salt and pepper over chicken. Place 1 slice lemon onto each chicken piece.
• Pour wine into the skillet with reserved olive oil; bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add chicken broth and lemon juice and boil until reduced by half, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour wine mixture over chicken and drizzle brandied orange liqueur over each.
• Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink in the center and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.