Chicken Parmigiana! One of my favorite Italian-American dishes. This dish actually originated in the northeastern United States with the influx of Italian immigrants. Since that time, it has definitely become a staple in Italian-American restaurants. If you can make Chicken Milanese and you can make a good Sunday sauce, then you can make a good Chicken Parmigiana. This dish takes the Chicken Milanese base and covers it in tomato sauce and melted cheese. It's totally comfort food, particularly when paired with a pile of spaghetti coated in sauce.
Here is how I make Chicken Parmigiana. I use my Sunday sauce recipe for the tomato sauce that will top the chicken and coat the spaghetti. The sauce can of course be made in advance and warmed up when you are ready to make this dish. I use fresh mozzarella or buffalo mozzarella to melt over the chicken. Giving the cheese a slight broil after it melts adds some nice color and texture to it.
Ingredients
4-6 sliced, boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets (or 2-3 full
chicken breasts)
Salt and Pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp black pepper
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2-4 tbsp butter
1 lb dried spaghetti
4 cups tomato sauce
8-12 slices fresh mozzarella cheese
Handful of parsley, chopped
Prior to preparing the chicken, you will want to make sure you have
tomato sauce warm and ready. I use my personal tomato sauce recipe for my
chicken parmigiana.
Preheat an oven to 350 °F.
To make the chicken, I recommend using thinly sliced chicken
breast cutlets. This eliminates a step of having to slice and pound down the chicken.
If you cannot get the thinly sliced cutlets, just use full chicken breasts. Split
each breast half by slicing horizontally across the middle of the breast, then
pound them flat using a meat mallet. Whichever route you take, once your
chicken is ready, season each breast cutlet well with salt and pepper.
Salt and Pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp black pepper
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2-4 tbsp butter
1 lb dried spaghetti
4 cups tomato sauce
8-12 slices fresh mozzarella cheese
Handful of parsley, chopped
Add the flour to a bowl large enough to toss the chicken in without creating a mess of spillage. Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder and mix together. In another bowl crack the eggs, add the milk, and whisk until completely blended and smooth. In one last bowl (again large enough to toss without messes) combine the breadcrumbs and grated parmesan. Stir to mix together well.
Dredge each piece of chicken with the flour so that it is fully coated. Shake off any excess flour, then dip broth moth sides in the egg wash, ensuring it is well coated with egg. Lastly dredge both sides of the chicken in the breadcrumb mix, ensuring both are fully and evenly coated in breadcrumb. Shake off any excess.
Add the olive oil followed by the butter to a warm pan over medium heat. Begin with 2 tbsp of butter first, and add the remaining butter later if you need more butter for frying the remaining chicken cutlets. When the butter is fully melted add the chicken. Fry in batches and be sure not to crowd the pan. Fry each chicken cutlet for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden. Set aside on a baking sheet as each piece is finished.
When all of the chicken cutlets are fried, golden, and on the baking sheet, spread a small ladleful of tomato sauce across the top of each cutlet. Make sure there is a nice thin layer of sauce fully covering each cutlet. Place two thin slices of the buffalo mozzarella on top of the sauce, side by side, on each chicken cutlet. Place the tray of chicken in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted. Once the cheese is melted, turn the oven to the broil setting and broil the chicken on high setting for about 5-7 minutes, until the cheese has browned and turned slightly bubbly. Remove the chicken from the oven.
While the chicken Is baking, prepare your spaghetti. Fill a medium sized stock pot ½ to ⅔ of the way full with water. Bring to a simmer and then add 2 tablespoons of salt. Stir the water to make sure the salt is dissolved and then add in the dried spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti for about 10-12 minutes, until it is al dente.
When the spaghetti is ready, remove the pasta from the heat. Reserve a few ladles of the pasta water in a small bowl on the side. Drain the spaghetti into a colander in the sink. Return the spaghetti to the now empty pot and add 3-4 ladles of tomato sauce to the drained spaghetti. Stir the sauce through the spaghetti. Add a ladle of the pasta water to the spaghetti followed by 1-2 more ladles of the tomato sauce. Stir the sauce into the spaghetti. Add more sauce if needed, but the spaghetti should be well sauced at this point. You want the noodles to be coated in sauce, not drowning in it.
To serve, place a portion of the spaghetti on a plate, and place one piece of chicken beside it, Garnish both some of the chopped parsley. Enjoy!