CHICKEN PARMESAN WITH ROASTED PEPPER TOMATO SAUCE

If you want an easy chicken parmesan recipe, just bread your chicken, fry it, and top it with jarred spaghetti sauce and Parmesan cheese. I've taken that easy road. But not this time.

First, I added Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley to seasoned breadcrumbs. Next, I dipped the chicken cutlets in a mixture of egg, white wine, salt and pepper before breading them. This treatment gives flavor to the chicken even before it's bathed in sauce.

And the sauce for this dish is what's really spectacular. Two whole roasted peppers are cut into long strips. Half of them are cooked with the sauce which is then pureed. The remainder are put on top of the sauce before the chicken is added to the pan and before it goes into the oven. There aren't many ingredients in this sauce, because the peppers are on center stage, and let me assure you they perform well. This is one of my favorite tomato sauces, and it is perfect with chicken parmesan. Take the long road next time you make chicken parmesan -- make this sauce. It won't disappoint you.

Chicken Parmesan with Roasted Pepper Tomato Sauce

Source: Chicken Breading: Judy's Kitchen

Roasted Pepper Tomato Sauce: Adapted from The Romagnolis' Table Cookbook

Rating: 10 out of 10
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INGREDIENTS:

Roasted Pepper Tomato Sauce:
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 large garlic clove, grated or minced

1 hot red pepper pod, seeded (or 1/8 tsp. ground red pepper)

28-oz. can good-quality crushed tomatoes in thick puree

1 tsp. sea salt (or more, if desired)

2 roasted red peppers, cut in long strips (jarred are ok)

1 can (14.5 oz.) low-sodium chicken broth

In large heavy pot, saute the onion and pepper pod in the oil over medium heat till transparent, about 5 minutes. Briefly add the garlic (and ground pepper if you didn't use the pepper pod) and cook for about 30 seconds. Remove the pepper pod if you used it. Pour in the tomatoes, add salt and half of the roasted peppers. Stir in as much of the broth as you need to get the sauce to desired consistency. (We like ours thin, so I added the whole can.) Cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes; taste to adjust seasonings, adding more salt if needed. Puree the sauce, if desired. (My husband has to have smooth sauce, so I always puree.) Reserve remaining half of roasted peppers for roasting pan.

Breading: 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 egg

2 Tbsp. white wine, drinking quality

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half, pounded to even thickness (4 cutlets total)

In a disposable plate or plastic bag, combine the parsley, cheese and bread crumbs; set aside. In a flat bowl, whisk egg with wine, salt and pepper till frothy. Dip cutlets, first in egg mixture, then in breadcrumb mixture. Lay on wax paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate.

Assembly:

1. Heat oven to 375F. Set out a 9x12 baking pan and spray it with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Start a big pot of salted water on high heat for the pasta.

3. When oven is ready, pour 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil into baking pan, and spread it evenly to coat bottom. Place chicken breasts in pan, bake for 15 minutes.

4. Turn chicken over. Bake additional 5 minutes. Place pasta in pot to cook; don't forget to stir.

5. Transfer chicken to paper towels. Wipe any excess oil from pan. Ladle hot tomato sauce into pan; top with remaining pepper strips. Place chicken on top. Spoon some sauce over chicken. Bake 10 minutes. Drain pasta; return to pot; keep warm.

6. Top chicken with cheese of choice. (I used Italian 5-cheese blend, shredded). Bake till cheese melts, about 4-5 minutes.

7. Mix some of the sauce with the pasta. Serve pasta with chicken; spoon extra sauce over top.

Yield: 4 servings

TYLER FLORENCE'S ULTIMATE CHICKEN PARMIGIANA, adapted

Food Network's Tyler Florence has a series of "ultimates." My DVR is programmed to record them, and I watch them at my convenience. Yesterday I watched "Ultimate Chicken Parmigiana." I like Tyler. He's down to earth and his recipes are interesting. I've made chicken parm for years with no trouble, and to rave reviews. My method is a little different from his. I "fry" my breaded chicken in the oven, using a little less oil; I use Italian flavored breadcrumbs for the breading and our regular tomato sauce which is smooth and mild. I've tried variations over the years, such as mixing white wine with the egg. After watching the recording, I was hungry for some chicken parm, and I decided to go for the ultimate. My method is easier and quicker, because I make tomato sauce in batches and freeze it; so the work of making the sauce would be eliminated for this dish. Still, I think it's worth it to go the extra mile, because I liked the flavor of the olives in the sauce, and his double breading adds another depth of flavor. I'm keeping this recipe to use again. Guy, the fussy one and the resident Italian expert, gave it a thumbs up--way up.

I made a few changes, but very few and nothing to affect taste. You can find the original recipe on the Food Network site. Just do a search for ultimate chicken parmigiana. I've heard that recipes disappear from that site, so if you want the original, don't put it off. Print it out and you'll have it. Oh, and I usually don't serve chicken parm with pasta, although that is certainly an option. We like it with mashed potatoes. My recipe for lower-fat mashed potatoes will follow tomorrow.

Tyler Florence's Ultimate Chicken Parmigiana, adapted
SAUCE:
2 Tbsp. + 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided use
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, finely choped
2 small bay leaves
1/4 cup pitted, chopped kalamata olives
1 tsp. dried basil (I used McCormick Mediterranean Basil Leaves)
28-oz. can diced tomatoes or crushed Italian plum tomatoes
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. honey
sea salt and pepper to taste
big pinch of red pepper flakes
CHICKEN CUTLETS:
3 Tbsp. white whole wheat flour
1/8 tsp. sea salt
big pinch black pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan bread crumbs (or plain)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (or 1/2 cup if using plain breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 tsp. garlic powder (I used McCormick California style with parsley)
1 egg + 2 Tbsp. water
2 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 - 3/4 cup Italian 5-cheese blend shredded cheese

SAUCE: Saute the onions in 2 Tbsp. oil over medium heat in a 2-quart heavy pot for about 2-3 minutes, or till they get soft. Add the garlic and bay leaves and continue to cook for about a minute. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, stir, lower the heat and cover the pot. Cook for about an hour for best blend of flavors.

CHICKEN CUTLETS: Preheat the oven to 350F. Get the ingredients together for the chicken so you have a little assembly line.

1. Put the flour, salt and pepper in a paper plate, and mix with fork to distribute ingredients.
2. Put the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley and garlic powder in another paper plate
and mix with fork to distribute ingredients.
3. Put out one empty paper plate.
4. Crack the egg into a shallow wide bowl (like a soup bowl); add the water and whip with a
fork till it's frothy.
5. Prepare a 9x13 or 8x12 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Slice the chicken breasts in half to make them thinner, or pound them with a mallet. I got 4 cutlets from 2 chicken breasts. Because you're putting breading and cheese on them, 1 cutlet may be enough for you, as it was for us. But if you're a big eater, plan on using 2 cutlets (1 breast) per person.

Start your assembly: Using tongs for the chicken, pick up one cutlet and dredge in the flour; then dip into the egg, coating both sides. Lastly, dredge in the breadcrumb mixture. Lay the cutlet on the empty paper plate. Repeat with the other cutlets.

In a large heavy saute pan or fry pan, heat 1/4 cup oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the cutlets, and fry for about 4 minutes on each side until golden and crusty, turning once.
Transfer cutlets to the baking pan and ladle the tomato-olive sauce over them. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or till the cheese is bubbly. Garnish with fresh basil and serve with hot spaghetti or mashed potatoes. Serves 2-4

Notes: Tyler uses fresh basil with this dish, and I would have, except my plants are not cooperating. They got hit with some cold weather after I planted them and they are just now recovering, so it will be a while before I have fresh basil. Tyler also uses a large rectangular saute pan that is oven proof. I don't want to put my cookware into the oven, mainly because my pots hang over the stove and I've seen his pots -- they're streaky and spotted and I don't want my pots to look like that. So I transferred to a baking pan. If you have an ovenproof saute pan that you want to use, go ahead.