Ridiculously Good Scratch Chicken Parmesan

Italian food is delicious, and hearty, and, if there’s any leftovers, really good the next day. It’s comfort food, cheesy, gooey and mouthwatering. That could be a biased opinion, Mum’s side of the family is Italian. This is not her recipe, it’s something I put together on a Wednesday night because I had all the necessary ingredients in the fridge, and I felt like it. So read on for a ridiculously good scratch chicken parmesan, it’s definitely worth it

The idea of breading something, pre cooking it, then baking it with tomatoes and cheese, well, it’s not new. One thing that comes to mind is baked eggplant. It’s another fine example of Italian cooking. The chicken parmesan we have come to know and love is actually an American dish. It was originally put together by Italian descendants and served in New York restaurants in the 50’s. And just grew from there. Now it’s a staple on most menus from diners to pizza parlors. It can be served on a plate or a sub. Definitely a versatile dish.

For those of you who read my blog, I tend to go on about my culinary journey from beast to bird in search of a healthier diet. Well, I have to say, this ridiculously good scratch chicken parmesan, is not the healthiest recipe on this blog. However, what it lacks in healthy, it sure makes up in taste. However, healthy is not just ingredients, it’s more about where the ingredients came from. I heard an interview with a nutritionist discussing food labels. The statement was “Most people don’t read food labels, so, why not choose food that doesn’t come with a label”. Sounds simple, eat fresh, or minimally processed food.

I don’t buy pasta sauce, the sodium content is too high, and although low sodium is available, it’s really expensive. So, I will use a can of no salt tomato sauce as a base. I’m making a garlic basil sauce for this recipe. Sauté the garlic in olive oil so it releases it’s flavors, then add the tomato sauce, the basil, oregano, and some ground red pepper flakes to warm it up. And a tablespoon of tomato paste for some body. Do this before prepping the chicken because the sauce needs to come together over low heat for a bit. So let it simmer till needed.

The root of most Italian food is tomatoes and cheese. Well, we just took care of the tomato part, lets move on the the cheese part. Chicken is the excuse for adding more cheese, sounds like a plan. Starting with a whole chicken breast, we need some glue to make the coating stick.

The trick to making a coating stick is a three step process. First dredge the breast in flour, now dip the floured breast in a beaten egg bath. The flour helps the egg to stick to the breast. Now dredge the breast in a 50/50 mixture of grated cheese and breadcrumbs Because the chicken is the excuse for the cheese, grated parmesan works well. While discussing parmesan, only use fresh grated, not from a plastic container, your taste buds will thank you for that. So now stick as much coating on the chicken breast as possible. Put in and appropriately sized oven dish lined with parchment paper, place in a preheated 375 degree oven and set the timer for 40 mins.

Now make sure to clean up after handling raw meat, check my post on safe food prep.

Well, the sauce is simmering on the stove and the chicken is baking in the oven, with a timer set. I have found that 40 mins at 375 will cook the breast. But always check temp before serving, 165 degrees. I have mentioned in a few of my posts about the timing of the cooking. The idea is to have everything ready at the same time. That’s why I use a timer. At the 20 minute mark put up the water for the pasta, that will give enough time for the water to boil and the pasta to cook. When the pasta is done, drain and dress with some olive oil, pepper and maybe garlic powder. At the 10 minute left mark, remove the chicken from the oven, pour over the sauce, top generously with grated mozzarella and put back in the oven for the last 10 minutes.

When the timer goes off, remove the chicken from the oven and check temp, should be done. Plate the dressed pasta and top with the chicken and sauce. That’s it, ridiculously good scratch chicken parmesan. Thank you for reading this post and enjoy dinner