Monday, January 15, 2007

Parmesan chicken

Parmesan chicken

I printed this recipe the minute my dear friend Valentina posted it - but it took me a good 4 months to make it. I shouldn’t have waited that long – this dish is delicious!

I love to try new chicken recipes and this one won my heart when I saw it called for Parmesan cheese.

The crust is very crunchy and I like the idea of baking instead of deep-frying.

Valentina doesn’t mention how she seasoned the chicken, so I marinated it in lime juice, smashed garlic and salt. You can season it as you prefer.

The sauce is delicious and Joao (a.k.a. “picky eater”) loved it – I made tenderloin medallions for him and served with the same sauce. The only change was adding chilli pepper to the sauce – my husband’s idea.

Parmesan chicken

1 tablespoon flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
80g breadcrumbs
20g grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
4 chicken breasts
pinch of salt

Sauce:
12g basil leaves or parsley – I used basil
120ml olive oil
60ml lime juice
1 clove garlic
80g black olives, pitted
1 large red chilli pepper - optional

Cover the chicken breasts with plastic wrap and gently flat them with a mallet, then slice them into 3 or 4 large strips – I asked my butcher to prepare the fillets for me, so I skipped this part. Season the chicken accordingly to your taste.

Preheat the oven to 220ºC (430ºF). Brush a baking dish with olive oil and set aside.

In a bowl, combine the eggs and flour. In another bowl mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan, parsley and salt. Dip the chicken fillets into the egg mixture then into crumb mixture to coat – I pressed it hard to get a thick crust.

Place the chicken pieces in the prepared baking dish. Do not overlap the pieces – they should remain separated. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown – turn the pieces upside down in half the time. Do it carefully not to tear the crumb.

For the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend well.

Serves 4

16 comments:

T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...

Patricia - A crispy crust, and you baked it? That's excellent - I'll have to try! The sauce sounds full of great contrasting flavors.

Anonymous said...

It looks wonderful. So many times 'parmesan' implies smothered and covered with paste and cheese.

wheresmymind said...

Beautiful for an anytime meal!

Anonymous said...

What a unique sauce. This has to go on the menu soon!

Anonymous said...

This sounds great! And I think adding chili pepper to anything is always a great idea ;-)

Stella said...

Hi Patricia,
yummy chicken you've got here!
I'd never have thought baking chicken would give you a crispy crust but you've proved me wrong:)
Oh and I love your sauce.:)

Stella said...

Hi Patricia,
yummy chicken you've got here!
I'd never have thought baking chicken would give you a crispy crust but you've proved me wrong:)
Oh and I love your sauce.:)

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Lime and chili -- such a great combination! Just found your blog through The Wednesday Chef. I'm looking forward to catching up with your posts!

Anonymous said...

That looks sooo good! I'm going to add this to my menu for next month.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Hi, T.W.
it's crispy without being greasy, and a lot healthier than deep-fried. Let me know if you like it. The sauce is a mix of wonderful flavors that go really well together.

Hi, Sandi, tks for visiting my blog!
This is a good recipe, one to make over and over again.

Tks, Jeff! You're very kind.

Hi, Shawnda, tks for the visit! The sauce is good, you're right!

Hi, Nicole,
the "fire" was my husband's idea - maybe he'll become a cook someday. :D

Valentina, thank you!
I never thought that either, I was surprised with the result!

Hello, Lydia, tks for the lovely comment! I hope you enjoy my blog. I'll check yours, too.

Hello, Kristen,
I'll be very glad if you do so. What an honor!

Gattina Cheung said...

Pat,
your chicken really looks wonderful although I always prefer deep-fried (I'm not that health-concious I know...), but your sauce caught my eyes immediately! I can imagine how good taste it is!

Anonymous said...

This looks delightful! I'm a fan of breaded chicken fillets but rarely have them as they're usually fried and soaked with oil, but I can enjoy this one as there's no frying! Thanks for sharing this recipe :D

Unknown said...

I love when a find a recipe that looks and sounds this good and I have all the ingredients on hand. Some of my favorite flavors are here.

Thanks for visiting my blog, Patricia. I planned to link to Terry B's blog today and then added a link to your blog, too.

I will return!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Gattina,
So you have a thing for fried food?? So do I, my dear, but I can't go that far - or else none of my clothes will ever fit me again. :D
The sauce is very delicious. My friend - the one I linked - knows best.

Dear Ellie, tks! It's a lot healthier to bake the chicken instead of frying it. I'm glad you liked it!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Hi, Mimi!
I'm glad you stopped by - this is a very good recipe and I think you'll like it.
I like Terry's blog a lot and I'm glad I can meet more people throught it!

Anonymous said...

I made this for dinner the other night...very tasty.

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