Recipe by Chef Heidi Fink
Chicken Parmesan
- Prep time 30 mins
- Cook time 30 mins
- Ready in 1 hour
- Yield Serves 4 to 8
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My recipe for this classic dish focuses on quality ingredients and fool-proof technique. Step-by-step to make the crispiest, most flavourful chicken cutlets and delicious tomato sauce. A family favourite!
Ingredients
- Basic Tomato Sauce
- Crisp Chicken Cutlets
- Pasta
- Garnish
Directions
- Sauce: Open the can of tomatoes and pour the contents of the can, juice and all, into a blender or food processor and pulse a few times to make a coarse purée. Set the tomatoes aside. TIP: Alternatively, use polpa or passata (types of fresh pureed tomato in cans or jars)
- Place 2 Tb of the olive oil, the garlic, half of the basil and half of the parsley together in a saucepan. Now turn on the heat to medium-low and heat gently, stirring frequently, until the oil warms and the garlic and herbs start to sizzle and become fragrant. TIP: DO NOT LET THE GARLIC BROWN. The moment the garlic and herbs smell the way you like, immediately add the tomatoes, with their juice, to the pan. Stir to mix, add the salt, sugar and pepper and stir again.
- Increase heat to medium-high and bring the tomatoes to a simmer. Decrease heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until tomatoes have broken down a bit and sauce has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. The sauce will seem a bit runny. Stir in the the remaining basil and parsley. Taste to adjust for salt. Remove from heat and stir in remaining olive oil. TIP: This can be done a day or two ahead.
- Crisp Chicken Cutlets: Preheat oven to 350 F. Cover a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside. TIP: Equipment needed: two skillets, a baking sheet, parchment paper, and three shallow bowls or pie plates.
- Grate the mozza and the parm, combine them together and set aside.
- Set out the three shallow bowls or pie plates. In the first one, place the all-purpose flour along with ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. In the second one, crack the two eggs into it and add ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. In the last one, add the 2 cups of panko and 1 tsp salt (no pepper). Make sure to mix the flour mixture and the panko mixture before mixing the eggs.
- Flatten the chicken: Two options 1) One step – cut the chicken in half like a bagel to make two flat cutlets 2) Two steps – cut the chicken in half on an angle to make two smaller pieces that each look like a chubby small chicken breast. Place these in a plastic bag flat on the counter and pound with a meat mallet to flatten. TIP: using plastic prevents chicken juices from spraying all over your kitchen
- Dredge the chicken: place each cutlet first in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess, the in the seasoned egg, dripping off the excess, then in the seasoned panko, patting it in all over. Transfer breaded chicken to empty tray and repeat with remaining cutlets.
- Start the Pasta water: Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil – this will be the pasta cooking water.
- Cook the chicken: Heat skillets over medium high heat. Add 2 Tb EACH of olive oil and canola oil to EACH skillet. Add two breaded chicken cutlets to each skillet. Cook for about 1 to 1-1/2 minutes per side, until crumbs are golden brown. Transfer to parchment-lined tray. Add remaining oil to the skillets and cook remaining cutlets, transferring them to the parchment-lined tray when they are appropriately browned. TIP: we are not cooking the chicken all the way, just focusing on the perfect browning.
- Cook Pasta and finish the chicken: Pour the pasta into the salted boiling water and stir well. Spread about 1 to 2 Tb of tomato sauce on each cutlet. Cover the chicken cutlets evenly with the cheese mixture. Place in the oven and bake about 8 minutes, until chicken registers 165 on an instant-reading thermometer and cheese is melted, bubbling and lightly browned. TIP: broil the cheese at the end, if necessary, to get the desired browning. Remove from oven.
- Meanwhile, once pasta is cooked, drain pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. Stir the cooked pasta into the warm tomato sauce, along with some of the pasta water. Keep on low heat, stirring occasionally, until chicken is done.
- Serve chicken with saucy pasta, sprinkling on more herbs and parm, as desired.
