Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Chicken Parmigiana

Continuing on with the delicious rotisserie chicken menu series, I now introduce to you ... Chicken Parmigiana. From what I understand, this dish is commonly paired with pasta but going with a nice fresh salad is a much healthier substitution. This recipe also calls for breading your chicken but, being a little short of time (and bread!), I  decided to skip that step. Of course, I also didn't have to cook my chicken as I just cut the portions I needed from the breast of my beautiful rotisserie chicken that, incredibly, was just waiting for me in the refrigerator. 

The wonderfully rich and delicious tomato sauce is very easy to make. I highly recommend taking the 20 min. and making your own sauce rather than using a store-bought version. Of course, that is an understandable option if you are short of time. The tomato sauce I made came from the my mom's garden canned tomatoes– it was heavenly.I am including the recipe for this easy, chunky tomato sauce in my next post. In the fall, my mom sent up an army of canned, garden tomatoes. She had an abundance of tomatoes and I was the lucky recipient (go miracle grow!). This Christmas we got some canning equipment of our own and are now very keen to start our own preserves. I do hope that you enjoy this meal. I saved a little bit of my chicken and paired it with a big dose of spinach salad for my lunch the next day. Everybody loves a dinner that just keeps on giving. Bon appétit!
*recipe creds to Everyday Food

Ingredients
3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 chicken cutlets (about 1 1/2 pounds total), or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved horizontally
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups jarred tomato sauce or Easy Chunky Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, preferably fresh, cut into eight 1/4-inch-thick slices

Directions
1. Heat broiler. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a shallow bowl. Season both sides of chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Dip chicken in the beaten egg, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat both sides.
2. Spread tomato sauce onto the bottom of a 10-by-15-inch baking dish. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place 4 chicken cutlets in skillet; cook until golden, 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Using a spatula, transfer browned cutlets to baking dish, placing them on top of sauce. Repeat with remaining oil and cutlets.
3. Top each cutlet with a slice of mozzarella. Broil about 4 inches from heat source until sauce is hot and cheese is melted and lightly browned in spots, 5 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately.

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