Chicken Parmesan

Bonjour, my friends!

As I was saying yesterday, this recipe hung out on the Tasty Kitchen sidebar for weeks and weeks, and by virtue of seeing it there every time I logged onto the site, it finally became a necessity to make. Like an itch I finally just had to scratch.

Does food photography every do that to you–tickle your imagination mercilessly? Force your hand, so to speak?

Anyway, it’s so good–and I highly recommend that you make your own tomato sauce to go with it. The sauce is such a central flavor to the dish that you really should have the best of the best. With just a light breading (no eggs and flour–just straight up crumbs and herbs), this is pretty darn healthy! Well, maybe except for the piles of melted cheese . . . but I wouldn’t give those up for anything!

If I ever became lactose intolerant, that would be a huge problem. Huge.

Knock on wood.

Anyway, the recipe serves 2, but it could so, so easily be doubled. Or tripled. Or zillionupled, if your baking dish is big enough.

Ingredients

(Serves 2)

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (halved)
1 TBS dried oregano
1 TBS dried basil
1 TBS dried thyme
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
2 TBS olive oil
2 cups good-quality (or homemade!) tomato sauce
2 TBS grated Parmesan
4 oz fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
Fresh basil, to garnish

See that lovely container of homemade tomato sauce lurking in the background? Oh man. How I love that stuff.

Preheat the oven to 500 F.

Also, I didn’t have dried basil . . . or at least I couldn’t find it. So I minced up some fresh stuff:

And I didn’t regret it for a single second. Or nanosecond. Or tetramegananonanonanosecond.

Mix the herbs, salt, pepper, and bread crumbs together in a shallow dish.

Oui, like dees.

Cut the chicken breast in half (with the knife running parallel to the cutting board) . . .

. . . and sprinkle all sides with a little salt and pepper.

Thinly slice the mozzarella.

And grate the Parmesan.

Now! Drag the chicken breast halves through the breadcrumb mixture, and gently shake off any excess.

Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized oven-proof skillet (I used my lil’ 8’’). When hot, add the chicken and cook about 3 minutes per side, until browned.

Turn off the stove and take the skillet off the heat. Spoon the tomato sauce on and around the chicken.

Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over each chicken breast, and top each one with the thinly sliced mozzarella.

It’s looking good enough to eat now . . . but patience, my dear prudent one.

Cover the skillet with aluminum foil . . .

. . . and bake it for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5, until the cheese is melted and the chicken cooked through.

You can use this time to set the table.

Have I mentioned that I finally bought a table cloth? And that it took me 6 years of marriage and owning a battered hand-me-down table to realize that covering it with cloth would greatly improve its looks?

I need a decorator to come and tell me about all the mistakes I’m making now, before 6 more years go by and I realize that I’ve been living in folly, error, and general oblivion.

And here it comes . . .

Oh look! There are my feet!

Garnish with basil, and serve with pasta!

These little shells tossed with Parmesan, black pepper, some heavy cream, and some frozen peas were the perfect accompaniment.

And let me tell you another secret–the next day I tossed the leftover pasta with the leftover tomato sauce and it was almost a spiritual experience for me.

Will it disturb you if we move in close to check out that tender, tender chicken?

Mmmm, mmm, mmmmm.

And all that was left . . .

Click here for printer-friendly version: Chicken Parmesan

15 thoughts on “Chicken Parmesan

  1. Julie M.

    Holy rigatoni! check out the cheese on that bad boy! It reminds me of the folds on an English bulldog. I can so taste this. Dang if your pictures aren’t going to give me that same itch. I’m totally making this.

  2. Veronica Miller

    You have totally betwitched me, probably in much the same way you were taken with the photos you saw on tasty kitchen! Yuuuuum, sounds so good. This is something I must try! BTW, the picture of it in the pan reminded me a lot of another recipe I want to try soon-eggs in pergatory! The pictures I seen are similar, with the eggs hanging out in a pan of red sauce.

  3. Skippymom

    My family would be ALL over that! I am not a tomato sauce person [weird, I know] but I would eat it with just the cheese melted over it. Yum.

    Cute feet!

  4. Kimby

    Jenna, the “melty cheese” photo got me — the “fork amidst Chicken Parmesan and pasta” photo called to me — and that last close-up is killin’ me…. yes indeedy do, it happens all the time! (Lol at your “feet” photo, too — many a thumb and/or toe has been cropped out of my photos — bravo to you for including your lovely appendages!)

  5. Twinky

    Great post!! Now if I could just remember to stop doing house stuff and make dinner!! You know me!!

    I loved how the little green peas get snuggled into the little shells–very cute and very tasty looking.

    So, should I someday bring you a stash of BJB (Big Jake Bounty) canned tomato products??

  6. Terri @ that's some good cookin'

    Sorry, Jenna. I just had to drop back by and make a better comment about this post. First of all, the pictures are beautiful! Second, the food looks amazing. Third you get an A++ on how tender you made the chicken. Fourth, thanks for all of your inspiration to live a happy life.

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