Suzanne’s Go To – Chicken Parmigiana

This is one of Suzanne’s all time favorite comfort foods. For many years, whenever we went out to an Italian Restaurant, I could always predict that Suzanne would order Chicken Parmigiana. It was a given, especially if we had a hard day and weren’t in the mood for trying something new, Suzanne ordered Chicken Parmigiana to help heal the battle wounds of the day. We’ve tried lots of variations in lots of places, so I had many examples to draw from when I came up with my own recipe. I probably did a dozen variations myself, but this is the one I’ve settled on, and the one that Suzanne seems to like best. I’ve added a secret little ingredient that changes the texture and the flavor, just a little. Unfortunately, Suzanne never asks to go out to an Italian restaurant anymore.

This recipe is for two. It’s easy and can be scaled up. I’m using a jarred sauce, Barilla Tomato, Onion and Basil, but I also like my own Marinara sauce. I just didn’t happen to have any when I made this. I usually make a couple gallons of Marinara and freeze it in two serving containers, between 2 1/2 to 3 cups, so I have it for these kinds of recipes. When we lived on our boat, Carolina, I had very limited freezer space, so I looked for and found two brands that have become my favorite pre-made sauces, Barilla and Classico. Easy to find and delicious to use.

Prep time: 20 minutes. – Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Making The Magic

Start with butterflying your chicken breasts, ending up with 4 halves. Once cut, lay each one out on a cutting board, cover with plastic cling film and tenderize. I like using the side of a small plate to tenderize most meats.

Prepare your egg dip by beating the egg thoroughly in a shallow bowl.

Preheat the Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a large skillet, medium. Add a little butter if you like. While the oil is heating, get your chicken breasts ready.

Start heating your tomato sauce as well. You’ll be using this to assemble the Chicken Parmigiana, and for your pasta.

Preheat your oven to 400°.

Dredge each half of the chicken breast in flour. Coat it thoroughly and then knock off any excess flour. Next coat the flour dredged chicken with the beaten egg. When coated with the egg, thoroughly coat the chicken with the Italian breadcrumbs. Now the chicken is ready for the hot oil.

Place the chicken in the hot oil, reduce the heat if it splatters. Let the chicken fry in the oil so that it develops a crispy exterior. You want the chicken breasts to be golden brown when they are finished cooking in the oil. Usually about 4 minutes per side.

When they are browned on each side, remove from the pan and place them into a baking dish. The two extra chicken breast halves were unseasoned and made for Bandit, our pooch. He always gets a little something extra on top of his dry food every night, but almost never table scraps, unless it’s a tiny bit of leftover meat from someone’s plate.

Cover the top of each chicken breast with about 1/4 cup of tomato sauce.

On top of the tomato sauce begin to layer the cheeses and some additional tomato sauce. Start by spreading the shredded Mozzarella, then the shredded Parmigiana, and top that with the sliced Swiss. I know, some of you are saying, “what is he thinking!” I added this to my recipe because it adds a slight nuttiness to the flavor blend, and additional stringiness to the texture.

Top the Swiss cheese with about 1/4 cup of Tomato sauce. Finally, top all this with the grated Parmigiana.

Pop the baking dish into your preheated, 400° oven, and bake while you get your pasta ready, or at least 15 minutes. The baking will melt all the cheeses, and the flavors will blend and bloom inside that baking dish.

Get your pasta going and when there’s just a few minutes left on the pasta, switch the oven to broil. This will brown the top of the Parmigiana nicely. Just don’t leave it too long, or you’ll burn the top of your beautiful Chicken Parmigiana. It will still taste great though!

When the Parmigiana has browned to the color you like, turn off the broiler and remove the dish from the oven. Let it rest while you drain your pasta and plate it.

Once the pasta is plated, ladle a generous portion of your sauce over the pasta. Then use a large spatula and remove each chicken breast from the baking dish, plating it next to the pasta. Oh Mama Mia, this is so Delizioso! Your tastebuds, and everyone you serve this to, will remember the loving care and delight that went into this dish.

Variations To Keep It New

Replace the sliced Swiss cheese with sliced Mozzarella. Add a little red wine to the sauce. No too much or it will become too runny. Just enough for the red wine to bloom in the sauce and start to release it’s aroma.

Wine We Love With This

Merlot

Chianti

Valpolicella

Bardolino

Leftovers

I have to admit, that doesn’t happen often. When I have had leftovers I’ve reheated the chicken along with some additional sauce and just made fresh pasta.

“La vita e bella con greta cibo e famiglia!”

Question

Would anyone be interested in a recipe for Veal Parmigiana?