Chicken Parmesan

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.

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