The Parmigiana Family

    A favorite section in many Italian Restaurants are items listed "alla Parmigiana", simply means meals made or covered with parmesan cheese. The world famous Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses, whose names derive from the northern Italian areas of Parma and Reggio-Emilia. It is the original and the best, but not always available. You can find it in any good Italian deli and many supermarkets. There are many good versions or imitations of Parmesan cheese,  that are acceptable and will work.

Parmigiano is the the Italian adjective for the city of Parma, the French version, "Parmesan" is used in English. It is used mostly to describe any meat or vegetable that is breaded, fried, baked and topped with melted cheeses, usually Mozzarella and sprinkled Parmesan. Other finer cheeses may be used, like Fontina or Asiago.

I use an old family recipe that has never changed, mainly because there is no way to improve it. It works well and customers that love Parmigiana dishes in our restaurants acknowledge that nobody does it better. 

The recipe is basic, but not easy, in that it requires some time and effort. The finished product makes it all worthwhile. You can use a variety of meats (chicken, beef, veal, pork, etc) or vegetables (eggplant, zucchini, squash, etc). The following recipe for Chicken Parmigiana is a perfect example:
 

Note, you will need the following items:

  • Medium size baking dish (Pyrex ok)

  • medium frying pan or electric fryer

  • medium size pot (for cooking pasta)

  • 3 Mixing bowls or pans

  • meat tenderizer - mallet

  • plastic cutting board

  • kitchen knife

  • kitchen whip - whisk

 
Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients:

4 each chicken breast
3 each eggs
1 cup flour
2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 Tbs milk
2 oz. Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs granulated garlic
4 oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 oz. olive oil or canola oil
1 pinch salt
24 oz. tomato sauce (see recipe)
6 oz. dry linguine
1 Tbs fresh chopped parsley

Your set up should be in this order: (flour, egg batter, bread crumbs)

Directions:

  1. Trim chicken breasts of excess fat or grizzle, pound breasts (lightly, they may shred) using a meat tenderizer, set aside.

  2. Egg batter mixture: break eggs and place in medium bowl, add Parmesan, milk, granulated garlic, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

  3. Place bread crumbs and flour into separate shallow pans. One at  a time, put chicken breast into flour, shake off excess flour, then dip in egg batter, then into bread crumbs. Press down to evenly coat breast on both sides.

  4. Heat oil in frying pan on medium heat. Fry breasts until golden brown  on both sides, then drain on paper towels to get excess oil off.

  5. Cover bottom of baking pan with a layer of tomato sauce. Lay breasts  across. Cover middle of breasts with sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella evenly on top. Cook in preheated oven at 375° until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.

  6. While chicken is baking, bring salted water to boil and cook off pasta (always al dente). Drain and serve on side of Chicken topped with tomato sauce.