Chicken Parmigiana

A quick weeknight meal.

(Here's the printable recipe.)

Chicken Parmigiana
Serves 4

3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs or Panko (Japanese-style breadcrumbs)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved horizontally and cut in equal thickness
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups jarred tomato sauce
1/4 cup olive oil (yes, you will really need this much)
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, preferably fresh, cut into eight 1/4-inch-thick slices

 

Place beaten egg in shallow bowl.  Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a separate shallow bowl. 

 

Spread tomato sauce onto the bottom of a 10x15 baking dish that has first been greased with a bit of olive oil.

 

Season both sides of chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Dip chicken in the beaten egg, then dredge it in breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat both sides. 

Brown chicken in two batches: begin by heating 1/8 cup of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat (nonstick skillets would be helpful here).  When oil is hot, place four of the halved and breaded chicken breasts in skillet.  Cook for 3-5 minutes per side.  Chicken should be golden brown on each side. (Use a stiff, thin-edged spatula to flip the chicken. You'll want to flip each piece of chicken only once, and flipping can be tricky because the breading will try to stick to the pan.  Try to slide/jam the spatula under the chicken in one fluid motion.)  Transfer browned chicken breasts to baking dish, placing them on top of sauce. 

After the first batch of chicken has been browned, add remaining oil to the skillet.  Once it's hot, add the remaining chicken, repeat the browning/flipping technique, and then place it on top of the sauce in the baking dish.

Heat the broiler.

Top each cutlet with a slice of mozzarella.  Broil about 4 inches from heat source until the sauce is hot and the cheese is melted and lightly browned in spots, about 5 to 8 minutes.  (Keep an eye on it.)  

 

Serve immediately. 

Recipe from here.