Chicken parmesan - Food Canvas

Chicken parmesan

Chicken parmesan, or chicken parmigiana(Italian Pollo alla parmigiana) (also referred to colloquially in the United States as 'chicken parm' and in Australia as a 'parmy', 'parmi' or 'parma'), is a popular Italian-American dish. It consists of a breaded chicken breast topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella, parmesan or provolone cheese. A slice of ham or bacon is sometimes added, but not all chefs are in agreement with the addition of pork. It has been speculated that the dish is based on a combination of the Italian melanzane alla Parmigiana, a dish using breaded eggplant slices instead of chicken, along with the cotoletta (the latter generally served without sauce or cheese in Italy).

Chicken parmigiana is included as the base of a number of different meals, including sandwiches and pies,and the meal is used as the subject of eating contests at some restaurants.

Popularity

North America

In the United States and Canada, chicken parmigiana is often served as an entree, and sometimes with a side of or on top of pasta. Many restaurants also offer chicken parm sandwiches. Upon arriving in America, Italian immigrants began to take advantage of America's affordable meat market, incorporating chicken into the Parmigiana. A recipe for chicken parmigiana was published in The New York Times in 1962.The New York Public Library has in their collection a menu from New York City Italian restaurant that has been in the same location since 1906 which shows that chicken parmigiana was being offered in 1958. In the same collection at the New York Public Library, there is a menu from a restaurant on board an ocean liner of the Italian Line that crossed the North Atlantic between North America and Europe and had offered Petti Di Pollo Alla Parmigiana in 1956. There is a recipe that 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.

Australia

The dish is regularly served as a main meal throughout Australia, where it is considered a staple of pub food. Chicken parmigiana is typically served in Australia with a side of chips and salad, although there is some dispute as to whether the chips should be served under or next to the chicken.Its popularity has led to a specialized chicken parmigiana restaurant opening in Melbourne, and chicken parmigiana is the subject of reviews on dedicated websites which compare the dish as purchased from various pubs within a region. The dish's colloquial name varies across regions, with 'parmy', 'parmi' and 'parma' the most popular variations.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
• 1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves
• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
• Pinch sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 cup dried bread crumbs
• 1 (8-ounce) ball fresh buffalo mozzarella, water drained
• Freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 pound spaghetti pasta, cooked al dente

Recipe

1. Coat a saute pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. When the oil gets hazy, add the onions, garlic, and bay leaves; cook and stir for 5 minutes until fragrant and soft. Add the olives and some hand-torn basil. Carefully add the tomatoes (nothing splashes like tomatoes), cook and stir until the liquid is cooked down and the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes; season with sugar, salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover, and keep warm.
2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
3. Get the ingredients together for the chicken so you have a little assembly line. Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them. Pound the chicken breasts with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/2-inch thick. Put the flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, combine the eggs and water, beat until frothy. Put the bread crumbs on a plate, season with salt and pepper.
4. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high flame in a large oven-proof skillet. Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off, then dredge in the bread crumbs. When the oil is nice and hot, add the cutlets and fry for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crusty, turning once.
5. Ladle the tomato-olive sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella, Parmesan, and basil. Bake the Chicken Parmesan for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Serve hot with spaghetti.