Plantain Crusted Chicken with Manchego Cheese Sauce

I know, the title's a mouthful. But when your mouth is actually full of this food, I don't think you'll mind. :)

I will be honest and tell you that I got the idea for this dish from a restaurant in my home town. When I first had it, I ate entirely too much at dinner because I could seriously not get enough of it. So yummy. And although it was not completely my idea, I did make up this recipe completely on my own with similar ingredients. It may not be exactly like what's at the restaurant, but it's close enough now that I'm a bajillion miles away and can't get there often.

Ingredients:
Chicken
-Enough chicken breasts for the number of people you're feeding-I did two
-About 1 cup of Plantain chips per chicken breast (if you can't find them, just use banana chips)
-All purpose flour, for dredging (i used about 1/2 cup for two breasts)
-Egg and milk, for dredging (I used 1 egg and about 1/4 cup milk for two breasts, and that would probably be enough for up to 4)

Sauce:
-1 cup cubed Manchego cheese (this is a Spanish sheep's milk cheese, and is sometimes hard to find. If you can't find it or are allergic to sheep's milk, just use monterrey jack)
-1/4 cup butter or margerine
-1/4 cup flour
-1.5-2 cups milk


Mashed Potatoes:
-Enough russet potatoes to feed everyone (I used 2 for the two of us)
-2 tablespoons butter/margerine (use a little more for more potatoes)
-1/2 cup milk (use a little more for more potatoes)

Cilantro Veggies:
-Enough zucchini and carrots to feed everyone (I used 1 zucchini and two carrots for us)
-1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil (just barely coating the bottom of a saute pan)
-1 teaspoon dried cilantro (or use fresh if you'd rather, chopped finely)

Directions:
Chicken-
In a food processor, pulverize the plantain chips until they are very small, but not completely powder. Mix the egg and milk together until it is a pretty even consistency throughout. In three separate plates or shallow bowls, place the flour, milk/egg, and processed plantain chips, like this:

Butterfly the chicken breasts to make them thinner (If the chicken breast is lying flat on a plate, cut it from one side almost all the way through to the other side, and open it up like a book). Take the breast, cover it in flour on both sides. Move it to the milk/egg mixture and coat evenly on both sides. Move it to the plantain chips and coat with that. Move it to a cooking spray coated baking sheet. Repeat for all breasts. They will look something like this:

Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes, turning over halfway through. The chicken should be cooked through. When everything else is close to being done (all the sides and sauce), put a slice of cheese on top of the chicken and put it back in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese.

Mashed potatoes-
While the chicken is cooking in the oven, peel, cube, and boil the potatoes in a pot of water. When the potatoes are tender, drain them and put them back in the pot. Add the butter and milk, and mash until relatively smooth. Add a little more milk if they're too dry.

Sauce:
While the chicken and potatoes are cooking, heat a saucepan over medium heat. Melt the butter in the pan, then add the flour and whisk it together (you're making a roux). When the mixture is consistent, add the milk and let it heat up, stirring frequently to help the roux thicken the milk. When the milk and roux mixture is warm, start adding your cheese, stirring frequently. When the cheese is all melted and mixed in, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer, stirring frequently, until everything else is ready to serve.

Veggies:
In a saute pan, drizzle in the olive oil, and let it heat up over medium heat. Peel and slice, thinly and on a diagonal, the zucchini and carrots. When the oil is warm (it will thin out a bit as it gets hot), sprinkle in the cilantro. Place the sliced veggies in a single layer in the bottom of the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes, the flip them over. Cook another 2 minutes, or until tender but still firm, not mushy. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel.

To serve:
Place a large scoop of the mashed potatoes on the back center of the plate. Place the chicken breast half way onto the potatoes, so it's angled down the plate like a slide. Ladle the sauce over the potatoes and chicken, and drizzle a little around the plate. Place some veggies on either side of the chicken. Serve immediately.

It may sound intimidating, but it's really not. I hope I was clear enough. Enjoy!!!