Alternative ways to prepare:

Parmigiana means from the city of Parma in northern Italy. But the name probably comes from one of the cheeses used in the dish – Parmigiana Reggiano (the finest Parmesan cheese made in Italy). But Parmigiana is a decidedly southern Italian dish (probably from Sicily) referring to breaded eggplant with tomato sauce and cheese. You can use breaded veal or chicken instead of eggplant. In fact, all are quite delicious.

Ingredients (serves 6):

• 8 – chicken breast halves, boneless and skinless
• 1 – cup flour
• 4 – large eggs
• 2 tablespoons – water
• 2 cups – bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon – butter (per batch of chicken)
• 2 tablespoons – extra virgin olive oil (per batch of chicken)
• 3 cups -- Botticelli's Rich Italian tomato sauce (you can substitute Ragù finto tomato meat sauce if you prefer a meat sauce)
• 1 pound – mozzarella cheese, grated
• 8 ounces – Parmesan cheese, grated

Preparation:

In my opinion, good chicken Parmigiana must have thin cutlets so you do not overwhelm your taste buds with chicken instead of a combination of the chicken, sauce and cheese. Consequently, I cut each chicken breast in half (parallel to the longest width). Place each cut chicken breast between cellophane wrap and pound it with a mallet until it is about ¼ inch (at most) thick. Make sure you do not pound it so that the breast breaks up.


Pounded chicken breast in cellophane wrap.




Set three bowls together from left to right (see photo) – place the flour in the first bowl, the eggs and water beaten together in the second, and the bread crumbs in the third.


Flour, egg and water mixture, and bread crumbs.




Dip each cut and pounded chicken breast in the flour first to lightly coat, followed by the egg mixture and then the bread crumbs making sure that each piece is completely coated. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan together with the oil and fry the chicken breasts (you will need to do several batches so place the cooked chicken on an aluminum foil tented plate (to keep the heat in) while you cook the other batches.


Frying breaded chicken




There are two ways you can proceed from this point forward. The first is to heat the tomato sauce and pour over individual servings of the chicken to cover. Cover each serving with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, and broil until the cheese has melted and starts to brown. Serve immediately.

The other way is to place the chicken breasts in a baking dish (my dish is 11 x 15 x 3 inches).


Chicken cut to fit the baking dish




Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. You can make two layers if you have too much chicken for just one layer. However, if you do have two layers, add sauce and cheese to the top of each layer. Cover the chicken with the tomato sauce and then add the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cook for 50 minutes or until the cheese has melted and browns. Let cook 10 minutes then cut and serve. Bon appétit.


Just out of the oven.


A serving of Chicken Parmigiana