Sensational modern day Chicken Parmigiana

Nellie Kerrison

August 23, 2021

Quick Dinners, Meat Based Recipes, Recipes, Main Dishes

Sensational modern day Chicken Parmigiana

Apparently, last Thursday marked an unpleasant milestone for Melburnians — the 200th day lived under lockdown restrictions. Wowzers hey!

For many of us, it’s been smudgy and messy. I don’t know if smudgy is a word, and I don’t care. It feels very apt for my own life, particularly these past 17 months, and maybe it does for yours also. It has been a constant wave of emotions and what feels like a continual dusting yourself off and picking ourselves up (and those we love). I am sure you can relate.

In an attempt to busy ourselves recently, our girls dug out some of our old home movies. Gosh, it was glorious. It’s hard to remember them being so little, yet the time has gone by way too fast. Just like the much older people back then told me it would.

Reliving these old memories prompted me to go through and clear up some of the photos on my phone later that day. It’s been on my things to-do list for way too long. There are precisely 66,112 photos to go through. This figure is no lie btw. I actually just opened the Photos App to clarify the number and was shocked myself. You see, I thought I had only a mere 55,000 to go through. I blame ‘the cloud,’ which feels way better than blaming myself. The task ahead was too overwhelming. You’d be proud of me (not) as I instead cleared zero old pics and got stuck in the camera rolls vortex for too many hours. A gorgeous family getaway back in 2014 to a great little town called Mallacoota was one of the many photos and memories that I came across. I have so many treasured memories from this family trip. Looking back on the photos gave me the precious opportunity to revisit this time again. Pictures are good like that…..all 66,112 of them!

So what I’d love to share with you today is a recipe that is a sentimental food memory from this family trip. We enjoyed one heck of a parma at the local bowls club (clearly back in a time when all the family ate meat). The locals suggested (strongly) that we eat there and they were good on their word.

This was my take on a modern-day (slightly healthier) chicken parma. With many of us in lockdown and not able to head out for a parma (or country bowls club!) right now, I thought I could bring the mighty parma back to you.

The recipe was included in the first Relish Mama cookbook with thanks to this family getaway. I wrote then, “When I cook it, I am taken back to what was a very special few days that I want to hold close for years to come.” …..and clearly, I still do.

I hope you really enjoy this recipe. It is what we think is a sensational modern day Chicken Parmigiana and hope it brings you happy food memories also.

Nellie

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Modern day chicken parma

A delicious modern take on an old school favourite.

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Australian

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 20

Servings:

Calories: 687kcal

Author: Nellie Kerrison | Relish Mama

Equipment

Frying pan

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion finely chopped
400 g tin crushed tomatoes
100 ml white wine
2 garlic cloves crushed
4 sprigs fresh thyme or oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
4 chicken breasts skin off
1 tablespoon grated parmesan
4 tablespoons plain flour
2 eggs beaten
100 g coarse fresh breadcrumbs
Olive oil for frying
2 fresh mozzarella balls sliced

To serve

Freshly grated parmesan
Basil leaves

Instructions

Place a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the olive oil and cook the onion for 3–4 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the tomatoes, wine, garlic, olive oil, thyme (or oregano), sugar, salt and pepper, and stir occasionally for 20 minutes until reduced into a luscious, thick sauce.
Heat the oven to 180°C. If you like, you can pound the chicken flat and cut each breast into two pieces if they are too large.
Mix the parmesan, flour, and more salt and pepper in a bowl or on a plate.
Coat the chicken with the flour mixture then egg mix, followed by the breadcrumbs.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and fry the chicken on both sides until golden, adding extra oil as you cook the remaining chicken.
You can transfer the chicken into a preheated oven to cook all the way through, if you prefer.
Place the chicken in a baking dish and top with the tomato sauce and mozzarella. Cook for 5–10 minutes or until the cheese is ever so slightly melted.
To serve, transfer to serving plates, scatter with freshly grated parmesan and top with fresh basil.

Notes

Never throw away your day-old bread… it makes great breadcrumbs. To make fresh breadcrumbs, remove the crusts from day-old white bread slices (sourdough and ciabatta are ideal) and cut into cubes. Transfer the cubes to the bowl of a food processor and process until crumbed. If not using straight away, transfer to a sealable plastic bag. Label, date and freeze breadcrumbs for up to 3 months. Place the frozen breadcrumbs in the fridge until thawed, as required.