Just as Peanut Butter and Chocolate is a match made in heaven, so is the combination of a seasoned breaded chicken cutlet, marinara sauce and melted mozzarella cheese.
Unfortunately, multiple decades of Italian-American restaurants serving heavily breaded chicken breasts, smothered in too acidic tomato sauce and either too little or too much melted mozzarella cheese has transformed what can be a perfectly portioned and well balanced flavored dish into a menu option that either is rarely ordered or only as an option of the uninitiated. Let is not even discuss the heavily processed, quick frozen options available in the frozen section of the grocery store. Either option requires a heavy dose of antacid to combat the agita.
In the posts Breaded Chicken Cutlets (Baked) and Italian Marinara Sauce – Santelli Family Style the “how to prepare” was presented for the two primary components of Chicken Parmesan. This post will show how to bring these two primary components together to create a flavorful and nicely portioned meal together.
See ingredients, instruction on how to prepare and suggested side dishes below.
Ingredients:
- 1 – 2 Breaded Chicken Cutlets per Person
- Marinara Sauce
- Handful of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese per Cutlet
Instructions:
- If the breaded chicken cutlets have not just been made, remove from the refrigerator in order to remove the chill from the cutlets.
- On the stove, or in the microwave, reheat a few cups of marinara sauce
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Place the breaded chicken cutlets on either parchment paper or aluminum foil on a baking tray and place in the oven for about 5 minutes. You want to remove the chill from the cutlet but not start cooking the cutlet so it turns into chicken jerky. You could also lightly cover the cutlets with aluminum foil to keep them from dying out as they are warmed in the oven.
- Once the cutlets have been heated, remove the tray from the oven.
- Spoon or ladle a light cover of sauce over the breaded chicken cutlets.
- Take a handful or two of shredded mozzarella cheese and sprinkle over the top of the sauce. Cover as little or as much as you desire.
- Switch the oven to Broil
- Place the tray of chicken parmesan on the top rack of the oven.
- About 5 minutes later the cheese should be nicely melted and has begun to bubble.
- Remove from the oven and serve with accompanying side dishes.
Suggested Side Dishes:
- Steamed vegetables lightly tossed with Olive Oil, Salt and Black or Crushed Red Pepper. See: Steamed Broccolini – Italian Style
- Risotto. See; Risotto with Portabellas and Asiago
- Polenta
- Small portion of spaghetti