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 regions 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 breadcrumbs  
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  
the breading setup should look like this

   flour egg batter bread crumbs  
 Directions:
Trim chicken breasts of excess fat or grizzle, pound breasts (lightly or they may shred) using a meat tenderizer (set aside)
Egg batter mixture: break eggs and place in medium bowl, add parmesan, milk, granulated garlic, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
Place breadcrumbs 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 breadcrumbs. Press down to evenly coat breast on both sides.
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.
Cover bottom of baking pan with a layer of tomato sauce. Lay breasts across. Cover middle of breasts with sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella evenly no top. Cook in preheated oven at 375° until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.
While chicken is baking, bring salted water to boil and cook off pasta (always al dente). Drain and serve on side of Chicken with topped with tomato sauce.
 

 

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Chef Giuseppe & Leslie Lauretta
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