Chez Starz

 

 

I made this the other night, and my son devoured it like he was a paramedic; it was funny. Our favorite restaurant in Brentwood, Cap’s, serves an outstanding chicken parmigiana, and I have tweaked the sauce to resemble theirs. This means I add a bit more sugar while trying to achieve the delicate salty-sweet balance a chicken parmigiana should have. The recipe is Tyler Florence’s.

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 ( I use pureed tomatoes to make this step easier)
• Pinch sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 11/2 pounds)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 TBS water
• 1 cup dried bread crumbs
• 1 (8-ounce) ball fresh buffalo mozzarella, water drained
• Freshly grated Parmigiana Reggiano
• 1 pound spaghetti pasta, cooked al dente

Directions

Coat a sauté pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. When the oil gets hazy, add the onions, garlic, and bay leaves; cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, until fragrant and soft. Add the olives and some hand-torn basil. Carefully add the tomatoes (nothing splashes like tomatoes), then cook and stir until the liquid reduces and the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes; season with sugar, salt, and pepper. Lower the heat, cover, and keep warm.

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Gather the chicken ingredients, 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, and beat until frothy. Place the bread crumbs on a plate and season with salt and pepper.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat 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 hot, add the cutlets and fry for 4 minutes per side, turning once, until golden and crusty.

Ladle the tomato-olive sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella, Parmigiana, and basil. Bake the Chicken Parmigiana for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Serve hot with noodles.