Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan is great on a plate but also delicious in a sandwich.

This is a classic and versatile dish. It can be a main course, a side for pasta or used for a hot chicken parm sub. It freezes well and holds up very well in a chafing dish for a buffet. While the recipe doesn't take a lot of special culinary skill, it is time consuming with several steps -- in my book a prime candidate for making a large batch and freezing measured portions for later.

For this post I did a single layer in a 9"X9" Pyrex and changed things up a bit with a slice of fresh mozzarella and roasted plum tomato on each piece of chicken before I added gravy and shredded cheeses. Al of this was mostly because I was also preparing eggplant parm the same afternoon and I just wanted some diversity since assembling both of them is pretty much the same.

I like to use chicken breast tenders and pound them thin rather than pay the extra for chicken cutlets at the store. Plus you can get some serious aggregations out in the pounding process....

A bit of gravy on the bottom of the baking dish keeps the cutlets from sticking.

For an added touch, there's a slice each of fresh mozzarella and roasted plum tomato on each piece o

Add more gravy and shredded cheese before the oven

Chicken parmesan fresh out of the oven

THE RECIPE

2-4c marinara sauce

1 pound of chicken tenders that you prepared ahead according to my Fried Eggplant and Chicken Cutlets recipe

OR.....

1lb chicken breast tenders

1 egg beaten

1/2c milk

2-3c breadcrumbs / panko combination

A selection of Italian spices and herbs if not using seasoned breadcrumbs

Vegetable oil for frying the chicken

1 lb thinly sliced or shredded mozzarella

1c grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

1lb ricotta - optional

• Between 2 pieces of wax paper, pound the tenders until they are a uniform thickness and between 2 and 3 times larger in area than when you started.

• Whisk the egg and milk together in a bowl

• In another bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and panko

• If seasoning yourself, add salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, basil, and parsley to taste.

• Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and then dip each piece into the egg mixture and then into the crumbs to coat well. (I lay the breaded chicken on a clean piece of waxed paper on a cutting board until all are coated and ready to fry cook)

• Heat oil until it's ripply in a large heavy skillet then brown chicken on both sides and set on paper towel lined cookie sheet.

• Once all the chicken is fried, assemble the parmesan by coating the bottom of a baking pan with marinara sauce.

• Place a single layer of chicken and add a layer of mozzarella and grated cheese. (If you like ricotta, you can spread a half cup over the other cheeses).

• If you're making it for a crowd, you can add a layers as described above and repeat until all the chicken is used up. Whether you're making a single layer or multiple, the final layer is sauce and grated cheese.

Bake covered at 375 degrees for 1 hour.