Many people avoid chicken breasts because they find them dry, tasteless and boring. Others choose the breast (preferably without the skin) and avoid the darker meat of the leg and thigh. Personally, I’m in the breast meat camp while my wife is in the dark meat camp. I’m perfectly happy with properly cooked, flavourful white meat on my plate. But when eating out, that becomes a problem because properly cooked chicken breast is hard to find.

Overcooked chicken breast can be found in restaurants around the world. People often choose a plain chicken breast as the option that raises the least dietary fears. With no fat, no sauce and scant seasoning, a chicken breast provides the diner with guilt-free, bland protein.

But it doesn’t have to be like that! It’s both possible, and easy to produce a tender chicken breast that even the dark meat eaters would be happy with. There’s no secret, but there is one cardinal rule: don’t overcook the chicken.

In its natural state, a chicken breast is tapered, but if you make it the same thickness end-to-end you’ll achieve a more consistent finish. To do so, you can pound the breast into a paillard. The word comes from the French ‘paillarde’, from Monsieur Paillard, a late 19th century French restaurateur. It is, in fact, a scallop, especially of veal or chicken, that is pounded flat and grilled or sautéed quickly.

So, working with one piece at a time, place the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound with a mallet, a rolling pin, or the bottom of a skillet to an even ½-inch thickness. The paillards will now only take a few minutes in a skillet or frying pan to cook.

I add about 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet. Once the oil is hot, I cook the chicken until golden brown on one side – 2 to 3 minutes. (Reduce the heat if the meat starts to become very dark.) Turn the chicken and cook until cooked through – about another 30-60 seconds. Let the cooked meat rest for a few minutes to ensure that it will will be fully cooked, but not dry.

If you want to ‘tart-up’ your chicken breast, add some shaved Parmesan or a smear of black olive tapenade and a lemon wedge on the side.