There’s a refreshing side of baby lettuce leaves, mint, tiny sweet tomatoes and cucumber to balance the meal. Remember to scrape any extra hot sesame seeds from the pan and sprinkle onto your salad. Cook, relax and enjoy!

What you’ll need:

Bibb lettuce
1 Persian cucumber
4 oz mixed cherry tomatoes
fresh mint sprigs
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup toasted sesame seeds
2 lemons
olive oil
coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper

Equipment:

meat mallet or heavy skillet
large skillet

Recipe steps:

1. Prepare salad

   Separate leaves of lettuce. Slice cucumber. Halve tomatoes. Pick mint leaves from stems. Set aside.

2. Make paillards

   Working one piece at a time, with the flat side of a meat mallet or a heavy skillet, pound the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap to ¼-inch thickness.

3. Coat with sesame seeds

   Season chicken paillards with salt and pepper. In a large plate or baking sheet, coat each paillard with sesame seeds, pressing to help them adhere.

4. Cook paillards

   Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and cook one paillard until golden brown, 2–3 minutes. Turn and cook until cooked through, another 1–2 minutes. Repeat with the other paillard, adding 1 tablespoon of oil before cooking.

5. Make salad

   Combine lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and mint leaves in a large bowl. Add juice of one of the lemons, 1 tablespoon oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss well. Quarter second lemon.

6. Serve

   Divide paillards between two plates and serve with the salad and lemon quarters. Squeeze lemon juice onto paillards. Enjoy!