Mangia Tutto Chicken Parmesan

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If you’ve looked over many of my recipes, you will see that I don’t mess a lot with ingredients from the standard recipe, but I’ve learned what I think are better ways of cooking. Ways that maintain or enhance the strengths of the different parts.

That is the case here.

It’s not so much that the recipe is different, but that it’s made differently and thus presents a better product at the end.

I do not recommend using a commercial Marinara sauce, but that is your choice. Your own or mine is much better.

This serves up well with the usual lovely salad with a light lemon vinaigrette and some great chewy cheese.

So, Eat up!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups spaghetti sauce. Mine can be found at Not Quite Your Wise Guys Spaghetti Sauce.
  • 1 chicken breast, deboned, skinned, and pounded to about 1/4 inch. Cut into 4-6 pieces
  • salt, pepper
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • flour for dredging
  • 1 egg, scrambled with 1 tbsp water (the water breaks the white membrane and allows it to mix together)
  • 2/3 c parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1-1 1/2 c panko or other breadcrumbs
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 lb of fresh mozzarella
  • 1 lb cooked pasta such as linguine or spaghetti.

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Heat the marinara sauce.
  2. Pat dry the chicken pieces (don’t neglect this!) Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt, pepper and oregano, dredge in the flour lay the egg wash, then in the parmesan, turning once, then into the breadcrumbs. Heap crumbs over the top, press down firmly, turn and press again.
  3. Place each piece on a wire rack until all are done.
  4. Heat the oil in a saute pan. Place chicken pieces in, not crowding. Brown on one side, and then turn and brown the other. Remove to the wire rack.
  5. When all are finished, place the wire rack into a parchment lined jelly roll pan and place in a pre-heated 425° for about 20 minutes or until done. Turn off the oven.
  6. Remove the pan to the top of the stove and place a slice of fresh mozzarella on each piece. Return to oven and let sit until melted.
  7. Cook pasta, add a drizzle of olive oil when drained and some parsley and place in serving dish.
  8. Bring the chicken on a platter and the sauce in a bowl with a ladle.
  9. Place some pasta on the serving dish, add a piece of the chicken, and ladle sauce over all. Grind some parmesan over all.

*Note: the point of the cooking on a rack in the oven is to keep the chicken nice and crispy. If the chicken is fried to the end, it either gets too dark or gets soggy in the oil as the juices run. If baked in the sauce, the breading is just mush. Hope you like this version!

 

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