Cottelet Di Pollo

Tomato Sauce-Place a little olive oil in a pan, add carrots, garlic, onion. Allow vegetables to fry 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and allow to cook until the paste has deepened in color. Add tomatoes, sugar, wine. Season with salt, pepper and basil. Bring to boil, allow to cook 10 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve if you like-I do not. Deglaze pan with a little white wine and add this to the sauce. Season chicken breasts with salt and fresh pepper. Coat with Parmesan, then paint with egg mixed with olive oil. Place into fresh bread crumbs and coat both sides. Place oil in large pan. Add breasts, cook 3 minutes each side. After first 3 minutes, add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and squeeze of lemon juice. When chicken has cooked 3 minutes on each side, pour 1/2 tomato sauce around the chicken, and cover the breasts with cheese. Cover the pan, and allow the cheese to melt. When the cheese has melted, scatter parsley over the chicken. Remove the breasts from the pan-add rest of tomato sauce to the pan, deglaze the pan and then spoon mushrooms and sauce around the chicken. Serves 4. GREEN BEANS WITH ROASTED PINE NUTS 11/2 lbs fresh green beans, smallest size available 1/3 cup pine nuts 2 tbsp olive oil 1 small garlic clove, minced 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley Salt and freshly ground pepper Snap off both ends of beans, wash them under cold running water. Bring saucepan of salted water to boil. Add the beans and cook uncovered, until tender but still a bit crunchy-2 to 4 minutes, depending on size. Drain and immediately plunge them in a large bowl of ice water to stop cooking and set the green color. Drain well. Place pine nuts in a small baking dish and toast, stirring often, until lightly golden, 3-5 minutes. Set aside. Heat oil in med. skillet over med. heat. Add garlic and stir once or twice. Add beans, lemon juice, pine nuts and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Raise heat to high and cook just long enough to heat beans, 1-2 min. Serves 4-6. INSALATA MISTA 1 large sweet red pepper 1 head romaine lettuce 2 cups fennel bulb sliced (use celery if you can't get fennel but its not the same) 1 cucumber, sliced 2 medium tomatoes, cut in wedges 4 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar-best quality Salt and freshly ground pepper Fresh basil The sweet red pepper can be used raw, but it is better if you blacken the skin over a flame or under a broiler. Place in a plastic bag for 5-10 minutes, then scrape skin off with a paring knife. remove the stem and seeds, then julienne. Clean romaine, dry it and tear into bite size pieces. Add the remaining vegetables. Pour olive oil, then vinegar and salt and pepper over the salad. Toss to mix, then taste. Add more salt, pepper or vinegar to taste. Chop basil, add to the salad, toss again. Serves 4 to 6.