Let someone else pick

By: 
Keith Bryant
 This past week has been double duty for me. I have helped at the candy shop for Valentine’s Day and in the evenings I have headed over to Legends on Main to help my friend Carlos for a couple of weeks. 
 It has been nice to work on a line again and the fast pace restaurant work that I fell in love with many years ago. I haven’t really worked a line other than the sandwich line at the shop in many years and forgot the rush you get from the tickets just filling up in a 15-minute span.
 On Friday I asked my friend Jasmine what she would like me to make this week on Sunday as she comes over from time to time to try out my food articles. She suggested a chicken parmesan with bacon. 
 I looked up a couple of recipes for this but found nothing that interested me so I opted for the original chicken parmesan. 
 The history of the sandwich comes from Italy, but it is more adopted in the United States. It has been speculated that the dish is based on a combination of the Italian melanzane alla Parmigiana, a dish using breaded eggplant slices and a cotoletta, a breaded cutlet generally served without sauce or cheese in Italy.
 The dish originated in the northeast United States from Italian immigrants and became a popular staple in restaurants serving Italian-American cuisine by the 1950s. Home versions also grew in popularity. 
 A recipe was published in the 1953 issue of the New York Herald Tribune that used frozen fried chicken patties or fillets along with other pre-processed foods to make a version of the dish at home. 
 Sort of strange is the popularity of this dish in Australia around the same time. There the dish is served with french fries. 
 The secret to great chicken parmigiana is all the taste and textures of the dish. The crispy chicken, acidy tomato sauce, and the smooth and salty cheese on top, making sure you get all of the flavors in each bite. 
 I used my air fryer to do the chicken 30 minutes at 360 degrees and it was perfect.
Chicken parmigiana
Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups all-purpose flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
4 large eggs, beaten with 2 tablespoons water and seasoned with salt and pepper
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1 cup vegetable oil or pure olive oil
Tomato sauce, recipe follows
1-pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan
Fresh basil or parsley leaves, for garnish
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed with some kosher salt to make a paste
Two 28-ounce cans plum tomatoes and their juices, pureed in a blender
One 16-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 small bunch Italian parsley
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions: 
 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
 Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge each breast in the flour and tap off excess, then dip in the egg and let excess drip off, then dredge on both sides in the breadcrumbs.
 Divide the oil between 2 large sauté pans and heat over high heat until almost smoking. Add 2 chicken breasts to each pan and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.
 Transfer to a baking sheet and top each breast with some tomato sauce, a few slices of the mozzarella, salt and pepper, and a tablespoon of parmesan. Bake in the oven until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with basil or parsley leaves.
Tomato Sauce:
 Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add pureed tomatoes with their juices, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 cup water, bay leaf, parsley, Cubano pepper, and bring to a boil.
 Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and cook until slightly thickened about 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
 

 

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