I'm assuming most of you carnivores have had chicken parmesan by now (probably lots of it). So what makes a good chicken parm? In my opinion, the responsibility lies mostly with the sauce. I guess that's true for a lot of Italian dishes. If you have a great marinara recipe, you're halfway there. The other thing I suggest is a nice buffalo mozzarella if you can find it. In my opinion, the flavor is superior to cow's milk mozzarella (it's just more robust) and super creamy. Topping the whole thing off with fresh basil really seals the deal.
CHICKEN
PARMESAN
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
3
cups homemade marinara sauce
1/2
cup all-purpose flour
salt
and freshly ground black pepper as needed
1
cup plain dried bread crumbs
4
skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds)
2
large eggs
1
tablespoon water
3
tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 (8
oz.) ball fresh buffalo mozzarella, water drained and grated
freshly
grated parmesan
1/4 bunch fresh basil leaves, torn
1. Preheat oven to 450º F.
2. Place the flour on a plate or
in a shallow pan and season with salt and pepper; mix to combine. Place the
bread crumbs on a plate or in a shallow pan and season with salt and pepper;
mix to combine. In a shallow pan or wide bowl, whisk together the eggs and
water.
3. Place the chicken breasts
side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them.
Pound the chicken breasts with a flat meat mallet, until they are about
1/2-inch thick.
4. Heat olive oil over
medium-high heat in a large oven-proof skillet. Lightly dredge both sides of
the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour. Dip in the egg wash to coat
completely, letting the excess drip off, then dredge in the bread crumbs.
5. When the oil is nice and hot,
add the cutlets and fry for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crusty,
turning once.
6. Ladle the tomato sauce over
the chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella, parmesan, and basil. Bake for 15
minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Serve hot with spaghetti.
adapted from Tyler
Florence
pounding the chicken |
dredging in flour |
dipping in egg |
coated in bread crumbs |
golden and crusty |
grated buffalo mozzarella It's so creamy, it mostly just falls apart. |
sauced |
sprinkled with cheeses |
topped with basil If you don't like the look of the basil on top, you can always put it on before the cheese. |
chicken parmesan |
My cat Pierre was in this position the entire time I was cooking. Clearly he's super thoughtful and trying to save me money on costly kitty chiropractor bills by aligning his own spine. |
3 comments:
I've cooked and eaten more chicken parm that most people and I have to say that one thing I think is essential is to use the thin sliced chicken breast. I may be over thinking it, but the thin sliced chicken makes the ratio of chicken to sauce to cheese exactly balanced in each bite. I can't stand having to saw through a thick hunk of meat which sometimes gets served in restaurants. Chicken parm, yum.
Good point...don't skip the pounding!
ah ha ha! Pierre is clearly an enlightened being living in a beautiful, happy home!
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