CHICKEN PARM

It’s really a Chicken Milanese with marinara and mozzarella. Any way you look at it, it’s yummy, especially if you haven’t made it for ages!

One of my dinner guests tonight asked, ‘How do you make it so it doesn’t get soggy when you fry it?”. Well, keep the breading to a minimum…fry at a good temperature (360-375)…and don’t totally drown it in marinara.

This recipe used 2 medium boneless chicken breasts. I supremed them (removed the tenders…saved for another purpose)…butterflied them…then gently pounded them a little thinner with a skinny rolling pin. If you can get the filets to about 3/8 of an inch or so, you can cook hot and the breading wont burn. Speaking of the breading, I used half panko and half breadcrumbs…then added about 1/4 cup of grated parmesan as well as salt and pepper. So, it served 4 people. I chose to serve with zoodles instead of pasta…much less guilt later.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium boneless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat and the tenders

• Kosher salt and black pepper

• 1 cup of flour

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1/2 cup panko crumbs

• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan

• Half canola and half olive oil for frying

• 2 cups of marinara sauce (i made my own but a good jarred marinara will work)

• 1/2 pound of fresh mozzarella, shreded

• Chopped flat leaf parsley

Directions:

• Butterfly the chicken breasts. Then place some parchment paper over them and pound them a bit with a meat a rolling pin or meat hammer. Be gentle so you don’t mangle them. Pound to about 3/8 inch. Season with Kosher salt and black pepper.

• Set up a 3 plate breading station: flour, then beaten eggs, then the breading. Lightly coat the breasts with flour, patting off the excess flour. Submerge in the eggs then into the breading. Make sure you bread them thoroughly, pressing down into breading before place on a dry plate. Refrigerate for later, or use immediately.

• Heat about 3/8 inch of the oil in a large skillet. When the oil is 350-375, gently lay down the breasts without crowding them and cook for. About 2 1/2 minutes per side until they are golden brown and the internal temperature is 165. Place on a wire rack over a sheet pan in a warm oven until ready to assemble.

• Heat up your marinara in a small saucepan. Preheat your broiler.

• Spoon a couple tablespoons of marinara on each cooked breast. Sprinkle on a little parmesan. then lay on about 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella on each breast. Sprinkle a little more parmesan. Place under the broiler until the cheese is beginning to bubble and brown. Remove from the oven.

• To plate, spoon on some marinara on your plate half on and half off your pasta or zoodles. Place on the chicken and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve immediately with more parm on the pasta or zoodles.

• For the zoodles: Run 3 small zucchinis through a spiralizer. Heat 3 tbsp of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add the zoodles and cook, tossing for a minute or two. Add 1/4 cup of diced red onions and 2 thin sliced garlic cloves. Season with salt and pepper and toss another 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan and serve immediately. The zucchini zoodles will cook quickly.