Kira Volpi's
Chicken Parmigiano
Chicken Parmigiano, although extremely delicious, it traditionally served as an entree without a side of pasta. But this is an American tradition that is not only super yummy but unavoidable as a recipe addition to this site and most Italian pasta recipe collections.
What can I say? As a chef you give the audience what they want and I have to be honest with you, although I am a purist, I love this dish when it's made fresh and done well.
Hi, I’m Kira Volpi and this is my chicken parm recipe. Making this chicken parmigiano is a multi-step process and although it’s not difficult at all, plan on spending some time in the kitchen if you want to do it right! I made sure I had a healthy glass of wine when I began and by the time I finished the recipe I was well into my second glass.
Of course I had to make my Marinara Sauce Recipe fresh to use as the sauce as well as making the chicken parm. This makes all the difference in the world. My boyfriend suggested I use a jar of sauce. NO WAY! Not in my Italian kitchen. He was trying to make things easier for me but that is the fun part and believe me when the guest tell me how great it is and how they have never had a Chicken parm like this before, well that is my reward for the added effort.
Chicken Parmigiano Ingredients:
- 4 fairly large chicken breasts
- 1 lb of pasta. I used a Scialatelli pasta shape
- 2 cups of un-seasoned bread crumbs
- ½ cup of panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup of all purpose flour
- 4 eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 1 cup shredded Parmigiano plus ¼ cup for breadcrumbs
- 2 cups of homemade marinara sauce recipe
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder or garlic salt
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 or more cups of canola and olive oil, blended together (or more as needed for frying the breaded chicken)
Chicken Parmigiano Instructions:
The first thing I did was prepare the Marinara sauce recipe. If you have some already prepared then you are ahead of the game. Set the sauce aside to simmer in a sauce pan until the final steps of the recipe.
I my own homemade breadcrumbs which is super easy if you have a sturdy food processor and you save your crusty left over day old bread. But if you use store bought use the unflavored bread crumbs. I don't like the flavor of most Italian flavored bread crumbs and it’s so easy to create your own fresh flavors so why not just add your own. To the bread crumbs I added panko bread crumbs for a really great added crunch. Then the shredded parmigiano along with one teaspoon of dried oregano, one teaspoon dried basil and one teaspoon of garlic powder or preferably, garlic salt. Mix them altogether in a shallow plate.
Place your beaten eggs into an equally shallow plate so you can dip your chicken breasts easily and the third shallow plate should hold your flour.
Then take your chicken breasts and with a meat pounder, pound them out evenly into ¼ inch pieces. If the breasts are really large and thick try to butterfly them and cut them into smaller pieces.
Dip the pieces, one at a time, into the beaten egg and then into the flour until the breasts are completely covered. Then dip them back into the egg mixture just enough to re-coat the chicken with eggs and then dip into the bread crumb mixture. Press the breadcrumbs into the chicken breasts. Remove and set aside.
Now is a good time to begin cooking your pasta. It's ok if it finishes cooking before you’re done. Just drain the pasta and rinse in cold water and toss in a couple of drizzles of olive oil and set aside till you are ready to use it.
Using olive oil alone is not a good idea for frying because it's not a high temperature oil and burns easily. But because I love the flavor of olive oil for all my Italian pasta recipes I decided to use this new product I found and it turned out to be ideal for recipes just like this. It's a canola oil and olive oil blend of oil. Or you could blend your own by taking equal parts of canola oil and olive oil and mixing it right into your pan. Heat one cup in a deep pan and add the coated chicken breast and cook on medium high heat until the chicken breast are a golden brown on each side.
Don't worry if they are not completely cooked in the middle. In fact it's better if they are not because they will cook more in the oven later when you bake the sauce and cheese on the breasts.
When they are ready remove from the frying pan and set on a baking sheet. Leave plenty of room in between each breast. With a large spoon, ladle a healthy portion of the marinara sauce recipe on top of each chicken breast. Then spoon a healthy portion of the shredded parmigiano cheese on top of the marinara sauce.
Place this baking sheet in the oven to broil at 375 for about 10 minutes. This will melt, not burn the cheese and complete the cooking process for the chicken parmigiano. BE SURE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS STEP. BROILING CAN BURN VERY QUICKLY!
While the chicken parmigiano is cooking, heat the remaining marinara sauce recipe in a large sauté pan. Heat and add the pasta to the pan that you set aside earlier. This will reheat the pasta and allow the pasta to remain Al Dente or to the tooth which means there is a little bite to the texture and is the way you want to eat your pasta always.
Toss together and mix well until all pasta is thoroughly coated. Remove the chicken breasts from the oven when the cheese is melted.
Now you're ready to plate this master piece. Portion out the pasta on the plates and place one chicken parmigiano breast on top of each portion of pasta, place a little sprig of Italian parsley if desired and MANGIA BENE. The reward for all you hard work is the smile on the faces of your guests not to mention your own.
Vivere, Amare, Ridere e Mangiare Bene
Live, Love, Laugh and Eat Well!
Kira Volpi
Do you have a pasta recipe to share? Just like this chicken parmigiano recipe I will post it right here on this site for a whole page dedicated to your Italian pasta recipe.
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