The Everyday Italian Chicken Parmesan Food

CHICKEN PARMIGIANA

Steps:

• Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt, pepper and Italian herbs. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 3 minutes until onion is translucent.
• Add red pepper flakes and herbs, stir for 15 seconds. Add wine, turn up heat and let it simmer rapidly until mostly evaporated and winey smell is gone.
• Add tomato, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Cover, then simmer 10 minutes on low until thickened. Cover and keep warm.
• Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
• Crumbing set up: Spread flour out in a shallow bowl. Whisk Egg Dredge in a separate shallow bowl. Mix Crumbing ingredients in a third shallow bowl or pan.
• Dredge & crumb: Press both sides of chicken into flour, then shake off excess. Coat in egg, letting excess drip off, then place in Crumbing, pressing to adhere.
• Transfer to plate and repeat with remaining chicken.
• Line a tray with paper towels and place rack on tray.
• Heat 1.5 - 2cm / 2/3" oil in a skillet over medium high heat to 180°C/350°F (Note 9).
• Carefully place 2 or 3 pieces of chicken in. Cook 2 minutes until underside is golden, then carefully turn and cook the other side for 1 1/2 minutes.
• Transfer to rack, then repeat with remaining chicken. (Note 12 - oil clean and reuse)
• Place chicken on a tray. Spoon 1/3 cup sauce over the chicken - cover around 80% of the chicken, leave the ends crispy.
• Sprinkle sauce with basil, then mozzarella cheese (pile it on in mounds to use it all up), then sprinkle with parmesan. Drizzle oil over parmesan.
• Bake 15 minutes until cheese is melted and there's a few brown spots - no longer, otherwise chicken will overcook.
• Remove from oven, sprinkle with extra basil if desired. Serve immediately (with leftover Tomato Sauce, if you'd like!)

THE BEST CHICKEN PARMESAN

Steps:

• Set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. Line another rimmed baking sheet with foil. Cut two 12-inch sheets of plastic wrap.
• Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise, making 4 roughly equal pieces; they should look like large chicken tenders. Place one sheet of plastic on a clean cutting board. Put one chicken piece in the center of the plastic and top with the other sheet of plastic. Pound the chicken with the flat side of a meat mallet, starting in the center and working your way to the edges, until the chicken is 1/4-inch thick. Transfer to the wire rack. Repeat with the remaining chicken, one piece at a time. Liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Put the flour in a pie plate and dredge the chicken 1 piece at a time, turning to coat and packing the flour into the crevices. Shake to remove any excess and return to the rack. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
• Whisk the breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a medium bowl until combined. Whisk the milk and egg in a medium bowl until combined. Dip the dredged chicken into the milk mixture, allowing any excess to drip off. Then pack the seasoned breadcrumbs firmly onto the chicken. Very gently
• shake off any excess and return to the rack. Refrigerate uncovered at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat 1/3 cup of the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook until very fragrant but not brown, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, basil and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the tomatoes are very tender and the liquid has reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Smash the tomatoes with a potato masher until almost smooth; it's ok if it's a little chunky. Season with salt.
• Heat the remaining 1/2 cup oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 cutlets and cook until the coating is golden brown, about 1 minute per side; the chicken will not be cooked through. Transfer to the foil-lined baking sheet in a single layer 3 inches apart. Repeat with the remaining cutlets.
• Arrange an oven rack directly under the broiler and preheat to high. Arrange the chicken in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, spaced 3 inches apart. Top each cutlet with 2/3 cup of the sauce and spread evenly to coat. Sprinkle each cutlet with 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Broil until the cheese melts and starts to brown in spots, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the spaghetti, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain and transfer to the remaining sauce. Gently stir until the sauce coats the pasta. Transfer the spaghetti to a serving dish and top with the chicken. Sprinkle with more Parmesan and serve with torn basil.

CHICKEN PARMESAN

Steps:

• Coat a saute pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. When the oil gets hazy, add the onions, garlic, and bay leaves; cook and stir for 5 minutes until fragrant and soft. Add the olives and some hand-torn basil. Carefully add the tomatoes (nothing splashes like tomatoes), cook and stir until the liquid is cooked down and the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes; season with sugar, salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover, and keep warm.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Get the ingredients together for the chicken so you have a little assembly line. Put 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. Put the flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, combine the eggs and water, beat until frothy. Put the bread crumbs on a plate, season with salt and pepper.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high flame in a large oven-proof skillet. Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off, then dredge in the bread crumbs. When the oil is nice and hot, add the cutlets and fry for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crusty, turning once.
• Ladle the tomato-olive sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella, Parmesan, and basil. Bake the Chicken Parmesan for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Serve hot with spaghetti.

CHICKEN PARMESAN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Stir the oil and herbs in a small bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Brush both sides of the cutlets with the herb oil. Heat a large heavy oven-proof skillet over high heat. Add the cutlets and cook just until brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the skillet from the heat.
• Spoon the marinara sauce over and around the cutlets. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the mozzarella over each cutlet, then sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the Parmesan over each. Sprinkle the butter pieces atop the cutlets. Bake until the cheese melts and the chicken is cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes.;
• In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove the bay leaves and check for seasoning. If the sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors. Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with the remaining tomato sauce.
• If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

CRUNCHY PARMESAN CHICKEN TENDERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Brush 1 tablespoon of oil over each of 2 heavy large lined baking sheets. Place the buttermilk in a large bowl. Add the chicken tenders and stir to coat. Let stand at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mash the garlic with the salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the vinegar and then the remaining 1/2 cup of oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with pepper. Transfer the vinaigrette to a small serving bowl.
• Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a pie dish. Remove the chicken tenders from the buttermilk and dredge them in the bread crumb mixture to coat completely, pressing to adhere. Arrange the coated chicken tenders on the prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over the chicken tenders and bake until they are cooked through and golden brown, about 12 minutes.
• Transfer the chicken tenders to a platter and serve the vinaigrette alongside for dipping.

AUTHENTIC CHICKEN PARMESAN

Steps:

• Wash and pat-dry each chicken breasts.
• Cut any visible fat from each chicken breast.
• Pour olive oil (1/2 cup) into frying pan, and turn the heat up to medium-high.
• Mix all of the following ingredients in a medium-large mixing bowl: Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, basil, salt, black pepper, oregano, thyme.
• In another mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk until it is slightly foamy. More milk, approximately 1/4 cup, can be added to make the milk-egg mixture less thick.
• Dip a chicken breast into the milk-egg mixture. Remove the chicken breast once it is well coated and allow the excess to drip off into the bowl for a second or two. Place the chicken breast into the breading mixture. Roll chicken around to thoroughly coat all sides of chicken.
• Once oil has reached optimum temperature, place the minced garlic into the oil and stir around for a second. Turn temperature of burner down between medium and medium-high. The garlic should be sizzling. Do not allow to burn. After a minute of constantly stirring the minced garlic, place the breaded chicken breast from the bowl into the frying pan. Allow room for the remaining breasts to be placed into the frying pan.
• Repeat step 6 above for each of the remaining breasts (one at a time). Place each breaded breast into the frying pan.
• Cook the chicken breasts on each side to a nice golden brown. This may take about 5 minutes per side. It really depends on the temperature you have your burner set at. You do not want to burn the chicken breasts.
• Once each breast has reached a nice golden brown color, remove from frying pan and place on a plate lined with a few paper towels.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Take a square glass pan, or equivalent, and spray with cooking spray (i.e., spray Pam).
• Pour half of the jar of spaghetti sauce into the square pan. (Note: if you are using a pan that is larger than a square glass pan, you may need to use more than one jar of spaghetti sauce. I used a 13x13 square glass pan.).
• Pour 2 tablespoons minced garlic into the glass pan with the spaghetti sauce. Mix around to spread garlic throughout the pan.
• Place each chicken breast into the pan without having the sides touching. Do not overlap the chicken breasts.
• Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce onto each chicken breast. Spread sauce over each chicken breast to ensure the sides and top of each breast is covered with sauce.
• Cover pan with aluminum foil. There is no need to have a tight seal around the edges of the pan. The foil can be loosely placed on the pan with some gaps for venting to occur.
• Place pan into oven on the middle rack. Bake for 40 minutes.
• After 40 minutes have passed, take pan out of the oven. Carefully uncover the aluminum foil to avoid burns from escaping steam.
• Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the sauce and chicken breasts. The idea is to have each breast thoroughly covered with cheese. It is okay if cheese gets on the sauce. It will make the dish look even better.
• Place uncovered into the oven. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and light brown.
• Remove pan from oven. Place on a wire rack or on top of the stove burner, and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
• Sprinkle parsley on the top of each chicken breast. (This is for garnishment.)
• Serve over top of cooked pasta. Spaghetti noodles are the best for this meal. Spoon sauce over top of each dish. (Fresh homemade spaghetti noodles are the absolute best for this meal.)
• Note: As mentioned above in the preparation steps, you may wish to use more sauce when baking the chicken. The chicken will absorb a lot of the fluids in the sauce. I use 2 jars of spaghetti sauce and 4 tablespoons minced garlic in the baking pan. We love sauce in our family.
• An Alternate method:.
• You can make this dish exactly as described above, and add one modification that will make this dish even more tasty. Stuff each of the chicken breasts, before breading, with a ricotta cheese mixture.
• The ricotta cheese mixture should contain ricotta cheese (8 - 16 oz), 2 tablespoons garlic, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon basil and oregano.
• When stuffing the chicken breasts, make sure you flatten out each breast with a pounder (to approximately 1/4" thick). Flatten each breast on a piece of wax paper to avoid sticking to surface.
• Spread a nice portion of cheese mixture onto each breast.
• Fold breasts in half and seal with wooden tooth picks. You may need to use a lot of tooth picks to thoroughly seal each breast.
• Once each breast has been stuffed and sealed, refer to step 6 above for breading each breast.

CLASSIC CHICKEN PARMIGIANA

Steps:

• Cut each chicken breast in half lengthways so you have four fillets. Put the fillets on a board, cover with a sheet of baking parchment and bash with a rolling pin until they are the same thickness all over.
• Put the flour in a shallow dish and season with a little salt. Tip the egg into another dish, then the breadcrumbs and parmesan into a third dish, stirring to combine. Working with one chicken fillet at a time, coat in the flour, then dip into the beaten egg, and finally coat in the cheesy breadcrumb mixture. Transfer the breadcrumbed fillets to a plate as you go. To freeze, stack the fillets in a freezerproof container between sheets of baking parchment. Will keep frozen for three months.
• To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a shallow pan and sizzle the garlic for 2 mins. Sprinkle in the sugar and add a splash of the vinegar, then tip in the tomatoes or passata. Add the oregano, season and bubble for 10-15 mins, stirring occasionally until thickened. To freeze, leave to cool completely, then transfer to a freezerproof container (portion it into more than one, if you like). Will keep frozen for up to three months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, then reheat in a pan until piping hot.
• Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and cook the breadcrumbed chicken fillets for 3 mins on each side (fresh or from frozen) until golden and crisp. Arrange on a baking tray. Spoon a little of the sauce over the middle of each fillet, and top each with a slice of mozzarella. Heat the grill to high. Cook the spaghetti following pack instructions, then drain and toss with the remaining sauce. Grill the fillets for 3-4 mins, or 1-2 mins more if they're from the freezer, until the mozzarella is melted and bubbling, then serve.

ITALIAN CHICKEN PARMESAN

Steps:

• In a shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and basil. In another shallow bowl, beat egg white until foamy. Dip chicken into beaten egg white, then roll in crumb mixture; place in a 1-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until chicken juices run clear., Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, Italian seasoning, sugar, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and tomatoes until blended. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Serve chicken and sauce with pasta if desired.

THE EVERYDAY ITALIAN CHICKEN PARMESAN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
• Pound the chicken breasts to about 1/4 thickness.
• In a small bowl, stir the oil and herbs to blend.
• Brush both sides of the chicken with the blended oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Heat oven-proof pan over high heat. Add the chicken and cook until just brown, about 2 minutes per side. Chicken should be nearly cooked through.
• Remove from the heat.
• Spoon the spaghetti sauce over the chicken, top with mozzarella and sprinkle with parmesan.
• Dot the tops with butter pieces, and bake until the cheese melts and the chicken is cooked through; about 5 minutes.