Classic Chicken Parmigiana
Recipe From: foodandwine.com
If you’d like, 4 cups of Big Y sauce can be used in place of the tomato sauce used here. You can stir in the 1/2 cup of grated cheese just before assembling the dish.
INGREDIENTS:
Tomato Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small shallot, minced
1 small garlic clove, minced
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
1/2 cup dry white wine
Two 15 ounce cans tomato sauce
6 whole canned tomatoes—drained, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Chicken:
Canola oil, for frying
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
8 skinless, boneless chicken cutlets (1-1/2 pounds)
2 cups all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS:
In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil until shimmering.
Add the shallot and garlic and cook over moderate heat until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Do not over cook the garlic. Once it starts to brown, move on. If the garlic starts to burn, it will alter the taste of the entire recipe. Stir in the crushed red pepper and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. A little crushed pepper goes a long way so if you don’t like heat, just use a slight pinch. You can always a pinch more later but, you can’t take it out once added.
Pour in the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Stir in the tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, oregano and basil season with salt and pepper. Chop the tomatoes to about half inch pieces. It will keep a bit of a chunkiness to your sauce.
Reduce the heat to moderately low, cover partially and simmer gently until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 45 minutes; stir in the grated cheese during the last 15 minutes of cooking. If you like your sauce a bit sweeter, add brown sugar to taste.
Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large skillet, heat 1/2 inch of canola oil to 350°. Meanwhile, put the beaten eggs in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, mix the panko with the oregano, basil and grated cheese and season with salt and pepper. I used Big Y chicken cutlets and pounded each of them a bit flatter just to make a thinner cutlet. The thickness of the cutlets is up to you. I simply put four chicken breasts on a piece of parchment paper and covered them with another piece of parchment paper. With a mallet, I pounded them slightly until under a half inch of thickness. Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper and dredge them in the flour; shake off the excess. Dip the floured cutlets in the egg, allowing any excess to drip back into the bowl, then coat with the panko, pressing lightly to help it adhere. Fry the cutlets in 2 batches until cooked through and browned, about 6 minutes per side. Six minutes per side was perfect. It allowed them to cook through, browned them and met them crispy. Don’t worry about them being too crispy. Baking them in the oven with the sauce makes them soft once again. I almost preferred to eat them fried, right out of the pan with some dipping sauces. Transfer the cutlets to a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet.
ASSEMBLY:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound thinly sliced provolone
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Brush the bottom and sides of a deep 9×13 inch ceramic baking dish with the olive oil. Spread half of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish and top with half of the sliced provolone and grated Parmesan. Arrange the breaded chicken in the dish and top with the remaining tomato sauce, provolone and grated cheese. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until browned and bubbling on top. I also used mozzarella. Who doesn’t love mozzarella, right? Serve immediately.
What Chicken Parm recipe wouldn’t be complete without some spaghetti. I doubled the sauce recipe and used the extra sauce to serve with a side of spaghetti. Because of love to batch cook to have some left over for another day, I really tripled the recipe. We had dinner for two nights and I froze a tray of the chicken parm ready to defrost and pop in the over. I did not top it with cheese. I will do that when I bake it. I also had some sauce left over that I was also able to freeze so I can serve it with a side of spaghetti the next time.
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Active Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Yield: Serves 6