Ingredients (Serves 4)

4	boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb)
	Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp	olive oil
1/2	medium onion, thinly sliced
1	bunch asparagus (3/4 lb), trimmed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup	fresh or defrosted frozen peas
1 tsp	chopped fresh tarragon
8	thin slices Fontina cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Pound each chicken breast lightly with a meat pounder at its thickest end for an even thickness. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
3. In a sauté pan, eat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Increase heat a little and add asparagus, peas and tarragon, adding up to another tablespoon of olive oil, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until asparagus is tender, about 8 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in another oven-proof sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts, lower heat a little, and cook, turning chicken once, until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, but keep chicken inside.
5. Spoon vegetables on top of chicken.
6. Top vegetables with a single layer of cheese to cover. Put pan in oven to melt cheese and finish cooking chicken, 5 minutes. Serve on warm plates with extra vegetables and any juices.

Excerpted from Scott Conant's New Italian Cooking by Scott Conant with Joanne McAllister Smart Copyright © 2005 by Scott Conant. Excerpted by permission of Broadway, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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