Chicken a la Parmiggiana

Here’s mytake on the classic dish.  For me, thekey is to make sure that the chicken is super crispy, not overcooked, and I don’tlike to bake the chicken for very long. Use a little sauce, don’t drown it. Use fresh mozzarella, not the hard block of cheese.  Use fresh basil, not dried flakes, and put itover the chicken LAST.  The resultingdish should be moist, tender, crispy and delicious.

For 4adults, you will need:

3 wholechicken breasts, halved (6 pieces total), with the skin on and bones andcartilage removed

1 bunchfresh basil, sliced thinly or chiffonade

1 large or 2small balls of fresh mozzarella, sliced thinly

1 cupseasoned bread crumbs (I like Sciortino’s)

2 cups ofgood quality tomato sauce or marinara (better if you make your own)

2 largeeggs, beaten

A nice chunkof Parmiggiano Reggianoand a cheese grater

Heat enoughoil to coat the bottom of a large nonstick skillet.  Place the chicken breast halves in the eggwash, then coat with breadcrumbs.  Placethe breasts in the hot oil, skin side down, and let them get nice andbrown.  Heat up the marinara, and turn onthe broiler in your oven.  Flip thechicken breasts and let the other side get crispy.  Don’t worry if the chicken is fully cooked ornot, it will finish cooking in the oven. When finished, place the chicken on a baking pan and layer the sauce(about 2 tablespoons), and a little mozzarella on top.  Place under the broiler until the mozzarellahas browned slightly.  Remove from theoven, place on a large platter and sprinkle with the basil chiffonade andfreshly grated parmiggiano.  Comfort foodheaven!  Serve with a nice side ofbuttered noodles and your vegetable of choice.