What's For Dinner: Chicken Parm
For the last week, my son's been begging me to make chicken tenders for dinner. Like, buy a box of frozen chicken tenders, put it in the oven and serve it to him, kind of chicken tenders. I couldn't bring myself to do that, but I made chicken parmesan tonight to satisfy his crunchy chicken craving. Plus, there's no better way to my husband's heart than any kind of classic American-Italian meal. I served the chicken parmesan with a big bowl of spaghetti in tomato sauce, steamed green beans tossed in olive oil, meyer lemon juice, salt and pepper and a wild arugula salad with grated parmesan, toasted pine nuts and a white wine vinaigrette.
Chicken Parmesan (this recipe is inspired by recipes from Patricia Wells' Trattoria and Cook's Illustrated's The New Best Recipe)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (tenderloins removed and reserved for another use, fat trimmed)
3 oz grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese in a shallow dish
3 large eggs, lightly beaten, in a shallow dish
3 oz (plus more if needed) panko bread crumbs (so much better than regular bread crumbs--airier, crispier--make sure to get an unseasoned one)
about 16 fl oz peanut oil for frying
3/4 cup shredded mozarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
basic tomato sauce (recipe below)
1 lb spaghetti
First, because chicken breasts seem to be super-sized these days, I like to cut the breasts in half before I even start. After cutting them in half, place each piece between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound each piece of chicken to an even 1/2 inch thickness. Then start an assembly line with all the items in shallow dishes (see photo)-- the parmesan, the eggs and panko bread crumbs. Using tongs, turn each side of the chicken in the cheese, shaking off the excess. Immediately turn each side of the chop in the beaten eggs, shaking off the excess. Turn each side of the chop in the bread crumbs, shaking of the excess. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Transfer to a platter or rimmed baking sheet. Chicken may be coated up to 4 hours in advance and refrigerated. Remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before preparation.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil for the spaghetti.
In a large frying pan (I like using a giant cast iron skillet for this--holds a lot of chicken and seems to distribute the heat very well), heat the oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Place as many pieces of chicken as possible in the pan without crowding. Cook until golden brown. Make sure you monitor the heat--if it is splattering or cooking too quickly, turn the heat down. This should be a gradual process without much oil splattering--I usually find that on my stove, medium heat is where I end up. Using tongs, carefully turn each chop, trying not to upset the coating, and season the browned side with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until the second side is golden brown. Transfer cooked chicken to a clean wire rack over a clean baking sheet and season the second side. At this point, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat oven to the Broil setting.
Once all the chicken is done, top each piece with 3 tablespoons mozarella and 1 tablespoon parmesan. Place the baking sheet under the broiler and broil until the cheeses melt and are spotty brown about 3 minutes. Make sure to keep a close eye on this as things burn quickly under the broiler! Place chicken on a platter and spoon a bit of tomato sauce over each piece.
Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain the spaghetti and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the tomato sauce as desired and serve with with the chicken parmesan.
Serves a hungry family of four with plenty of yummy leftovers.
Basic Tomato Sauce (from Mario Batali's Molto Italiano--a great sauce to have in your repertoire)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 spanish onion (if you can't find spanish onion, sweet onion will do), cut into 1/4 inch dice
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded (I use a cheese grater to shred the carrots--works like a charm)
2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes
In a 3 quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and the garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook until the carrot is quite soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, with their juice, and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer until as thick as hot cereal, about 30-45 minutes. Season with salt. The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for 6 months. This recipe makes 4 cups of sauce. For the chicken parmesan above, I ended up using about 2 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce--so, bonus, I have some yummy tomato sauce in my fridge for lunch or a late-night munchies session.
Cheers.
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