Say the words “chicken Parmesan” and you’ll likely think of either Sunday supper at home or dinner at an Italian-American restaurant. You probably won’t think of weeknight cooking, and especially not weeknight cooking with an abbreviated ingredient list. But, with the right technique, it’s a dish that is truly possible to pull off on any given weeknight.
This quick chicken Parmesan is heavily modified from a new Alton Brown recipe. It uses thin pieces of chicken breasts, browned in a skillet and then broiled on top of tomato sauce under a modest blanket of cheese. His recipe, however, requires a blend of cheeses, homemade marinara, and meat mallet-pounded chicken coated in three different ingredients. Delicious, but not exactly 5:30 Challenge-worthy.
Instead, pick up a pack or two of chicken breast cutlets and simply slice them into medallions. Give them a light breading in eggs and flour (seasoned generously with salt and pepper). Brown them in batches in olive oil — this part cannot be skipped. Heat about a cup of high-quality store-bought marinara sauce in a rectangular metal cake pan under the broiler, then top with the chicken in a single layer.
All that’s left is the cheese, and freshly grated part-skim mozzarella will do just fine. Scatter it over the top of the chicken — there’s no need to totally envelop it — set it all under the broiler, and let it cook until bubbly and golden brown. Serve it with a simple salad and plenty of crusty bread to mop up the sauce.
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