Hi guys, I'm Laura V itale
And on this episode of Laura in the Kitchen
I want to share with you my favorite recipe
for what I call perfect chicken parm sandwich.
It's so much easier than what you think a chicken parm sandwich
You know, this is my version anyway,
So there's no breading
it's just simple, good, juicy chicken breast
a little bit of salt, flavorful sauce
best quality parmigiano reggiano
melted mozzarella, we're in business.
Let's go over the ingredients so we can get started.
I'll need some finely chopped onion, garlic, Fresno chili that I've seeded,
some good thinly sliced chicken breast
you're going to need some mozzarella-
Make sure you buy the kind that's dry
not the kind that's in water.
Some good parmigiano reggiano, some fresh basil,
and parsley that I've chopped.
Salt and pepper, olive oil, and some passata- you can use
any crushed tomatos. This is just what I have on hand.
And I'm only making a couple sandwiches today
so I didn't want to open up a new can.
So, let's get right into it. I've got a little saucepan
here, my little pot that's been preheating with a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
Right back here, and I'm going to add in my onion
garlic, and Fresno. Now the Fresno chili is
got a nice fruity heat.
I've taken out the seeds so its not too hot, but its still
going to give a good flavor because it does have
a great flavor, and its got a little bit of heat
which I like. And I'm going to add half of my parsley and basil mix.
I'm just going to saute these together until the veggies start to break down a little bit
and soften, and then we'll add in our passata.
It looks amazing, it smells even better.
I'm going to add in my passata.
Guys, it's going to be so good- and so flavorful.
Turn this down to low
I'm going to let that simmer for about 10 minutes
and just gunna take my lid partially cover it
so it doesn't bubble up everywhere.
Let that simmer for about 10-15 minutes, and when that's ready
we'll get going to sauteing our chicken. I mean, how simple is this?
I'm going to be honest with you, when I see a chicken parm sandwich on a
menu somewhere, and the description says
breaded chicken cutlet, on a roll
with sauce and cheese- makes me cringe.
I don't know why anybody needs to bread it!
I mean, it can get soggy anyway- that breading
doesn't stay crispy, so why do all the extra steps?
And why eat all the extra calories when it doesn't even taste good?
So, in our restaraunt, this is how we did it and people loved it.
Because think about it, the chicken and the parm and the sauce is the star
and it doesn't get confused with all that mushy breading.
So, getting rid of that, I do it this way from now on. So this is going to simmer
and then we'll get going on sauteing our chicken.
Oh, yeah
That sauce has gotten really nice and thick
I'm going to season it with some salt and pepper
Now taste your sauce
because depending on the tomatoes you're buying
when a can of tomatoes you're buying
chances are, it can be a little bit sour, because tomaotes do have acid in them
you know, a little bit on the acid side, so
if you need to, just add in a teaspoon of sugar
and it really balances it out super well. So the sauce
is pretty much done. I'm going to hit it with
leftover fresh herb mixture.
Give that a stir. You can immediately smell the basil
too, and that parsley adds a really nice kind of light fresh, not so sweet flavor
like the basil. Smells amazing.
So I've got my skillet back here preheating.
I'm going to add some salt and pepper to my chicken breast.
Perfect. I'm going to put them season side down in my skillet.
I have preheating with some olive oil.
And these are literally, because they're so thin
about 3-4 minutes on each side, and they will become
completely cooked through. I'm going to season this side.
Let them cook through and I'll show you pretty much how to finish it.
My chicken breast has beautifully cooked all the way through.
Now I'm just going to top each one with our delicious
flavorful sauce. Look at that.
And this is a heat-proof skillet so I'm going to pop this
under the broiler, you just want to make sure you have
preheating. And then I'm just going to
put some mozzarella right on the top, tear
it to make it fit.
Great, put a piece right there.
And then of course you need some parmegiano reggiano.
It is chicken parm, after all.
So you want to be able to use, you want to make sure you use
the best parm you can.
Look at that. That looks amazing- what I've got here
are some steak rolls- I've just cut the very very ends because I use them for
bread crumbs, and I wanted to get the chicken breast to fit a bit better
on the actual roll, because they were much longer.
And I can use them for bread crumbs, which is great.
So I'm going to pop these into the broiler
as well as my chicken. It's going to be under there
for like a minute, until the cheese has melted and
the bread's toasted, and then it's time to assemble
and eat!
Now that is a chicken parm I want to eat-
and serve. Am I right? The bread's nice and
toasted. I'm just going to take two pieces
for now and make myself a sandwich.
I think I might take this one.
Careful because it is super hot.
Look at that.
That's what it's all about.
Look at- I mean seriously, okay. We don't joke around on
Laura in the Kitchen. We certainly don't mess around when it comes to food.
Look at that. That is a sandwich I want to eat,
and like I said, it's a sandwich I want to serve.
It is pretty rich so if that sandwich was any
bigger than this- whoops. If the sandwich was any bigger than this
I would definitely split it with someone, but
luckily- look at the cheese
I'm eating it. Luckily, it's not super big so I'm going to eat it all by myself.
It's going to be hot though
Mmm... Oh, yeah.
Now make sure you let it cool for a little bit before you slice it so the cheese
doesn't run all over the place.
But I'm impatient, and it is what it is.
And I'm going to continute to eat mine
so if you want to get this recipe go to LauraInTheKitchen.com
I hope you enjoyed spending time with me
and I'll see you soon. Bye!