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Chicken Parmesan

April 07

Seek the best quality tinned tomatoes for the marinara sauce in this recipe, it makes all the difference to the finished dish. You’ll notice I’ve also called for Japanese panko breadcrumbs for the breaded chicken breasts – unlike standard breadcrumbs they’re made from bread without crusts and are ground up into coarser flakes which absorb less oil, resulting a lighter, crunchier coating.

Serves 4
50 mins

Method

1. For the marinara sauce, place a large frying pan over a medium high heat and add the oil. When it’s hot, add the onion and fry gently for 10 minutes or until softened and slightly golden. Add the garlic, chilli flakes and oregano and stir through for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add in the tomatoes and fill one of the tins half way up with water and add this also. Bring the contents of the pan to a steady simmer and then reduce the heat and cook for 35 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by half.
3. Check the seasoning before transferring the sauce to a food processor or blender. Blitz until completely smooth- you can also pass the sauce through a fine sieve if you’d prefer. Transfer the sauce to a container and set aside.
4. Lay the chicken breasts across the chopping board, place a piece of parchment paper on top and, using a rolling pin, flatten the breasts gently to a thickness of about 1cm.
5. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Place the breadcrumbs, egg and seasoned flour in three separate wide bowls. Remove the parchment paper and dip each breast in the seasoned flour, then in the egg and finally the breadcrumbs.
6. Fry the crumbed chicken in the oil for 1-2 minutes either side until golden brown- they will continue to cook in the oven/grill. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of the pan.
7. Heat an oven to 240°C/475F/Gas mark 9 or a grill to its hottest setting. Line a large baking sheet with low sides with parchment paper.
8. Add the chicken breasts to the baking sheet and top each one generously with the marinara sauce, spreading right to the edges. Sprinkle each breast with Parmesan cheese and then sprinkle the cheese lightly with a few tablespoons of water- this will help the Parmesan cheese melt slightly. Place in the oven or under the grill for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese and sauce is bubbling and the chicken is cooked all the way through.
9. Serve immediately with freshly cooked spaghetti.

For the tomato marinara sauce:

3-4 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely sliced

2 x 14 oz tin whole plum tomatoes

½ tsp dried red chilli flakes

½ tsp dried oregano

Sea salt

For the breadcrumbed chicken:

1 1/3 cups sunflower oil

4 medium chicken breasts

2 large free-range eggs, beaten

2 cups fine dry breadcrumbs (Japanese panko work well)

1/2 cup & 2 tbsp flour, seasoned

3.5 oz Parmesan cheese, whizzed in a food processor

To serve:

Cooked spaghetti

For the tomato marinara sauce:

3-4 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely sliced

2 x 400g tin whole plum tomatoes

½ tsp dried red chilli flakes

½ tsp dried oregano

Sea salt

For the breadcrumbed chicken:

300ml sunflower oil

4 medium chicken breasts

2 large free-range eggs, beaten

200g fine dry breadcrumbs (Japanese panko work well)

100g flour, seasoned

100g Parmesan cheese, whizzed in a food processor

To serve:

Cooked spaghetti

You'll Need

Large frying pan

Food processor or blender

Rolling pin

Wide bowls x 3

Large baking sheet

If you liked this

The first thing I ever learned to cook was chicken Parm. I would make it at least three times a week and serve it to everyone—my college roommates, my tennis teammates, my then boyfriend, and so on. It’s such a comforting dish, and one I’m really fond of, so I wanted to figure out how to make it a little more polished for serving at a party. I took all the signature parts—marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning—and tossed it with pappardelle along with ground chicken! Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking!

main-meals
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Traditionally “cacciatore”, an Italian hunters stew is slow cooked, so you will have to excuse this bastardised speedy version. Although not traditional, it’s a comfort food supper that can be cooked in a matter of minutes using mostly inexpensive ingredients. Serve with sour dough bread to soak up the juices.

main-meals
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This recipe is great for entertaining and can be served family style by bringing the pan to the table. It looks beautiful, making it worth the extra work of browning the chicken and buying a specialty ingredient like sherry vinegar. © – ‘Whole New You’ by Tia Mowry.

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