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Let's get down to basics.
(upbeat music)
Alright so before we can ake Chicken Parmesan,
we must first make a sauce.
To make a super basic tomato sauce,
we're just gonna saute a quarter of a chopped onion,
for about three minutes or until translucent,
add a couple of cloves of garlic.
Saute those for about 30 seconds
before adding two to three tablespoons of tomato paste,
and a shake of red chili flake.
Saute those together for about a minute,
before adding a 28-ounce can of whole San Marzano tomatoes.
Stir those in,
crush them up,
place the whole thing over medium heat
and bring it up to a simmer lowering the heat,
just enough to maintain a bare bubble.
We're also gonna add a little shake of dried oregano,
a couple of stems of basil and one cup of tap water,
or bottled water I guess if you're a real fancy pants.
Then we're just gonna let this simmer for about 45 minutes,
until the flavors have melded and mellowed out.
Meanwhile, over on the countertop,
it's time to prep our chicken.
I've got four large breasts here that I'm gonna lay out
on some plastic wrap and butterfly,
cutting from the rounded side of the breast,
towards the flat side and opening it up like a book.
Then I'm gonna lay another sheet of plastic wrap
on top of the breasts,
and pound them out using a meat pounder.
You could also use the bottom of fry pan or your bare fists,
if you've got issues to work out.
Flattening the breasts is gonna help them
cook more quickly and evenly,
and give us maximum surface area on which to bread.
Most of it's gonna hit them a little bit of kosher salt,
and freshly ground pepper before setting aside,
so that we might assemble our breading station.
The first two platforms of which
are a couple of beaten eggs,
preferably without their shells,
let's start with three,
and then we've also got some, all purpose flour,
a little sprinkle of which we're gonna add to the eggs.
This is gonna create more of an egg slurry,
That's gonna have an easier time
adhering to the surface of the chicken.
And then I don't know,
let's make it four eggs, a little bit more flour,
and then for ease of dipping,
we're spreading panko breadcrumbs out on a rim baking sheet
with a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese,
the pre-graded stuff, no need to be fancy here.
Then to the flour I'm also gonna add some spices.
I got some garlic powder,
some dried oregano and dried basil,
maybe about a half teaspoon each per cup of flour.
Also some freshly ground pepper for good measure.
Tiny whisk those to combine,
and we're ready to commence to dipping.
Down some disposable gloves if you got them,
and we're gonna do our very best,
to exercise the wet hand, dry hand technique.
That is, using one hand for wet stuff,
one hand for dry stuff.
We're starting in the flour.
Once every nook and cranny is covered,
we're dipping in the egg.
Likewise, making sure that it is
evenly coated in egg slurry,
and then it's headed into the breadcrumbs,
where you guessed it,
every nook and cranny should be covered.
Now, if you like an extra crispy crust,
and you wanna really go crazy,
you could double-dip.
That is head back into the egg slurry from the breadcrumbs,
and once more back into the breadcrumbs.
Once everybody's coated,
we're letting the chicken hang out in the breadcrumbs,
until we're ready to fry.
This is going to strengthen their coating.
Meanwhile, over on the stove top,
our sauce is looking pretty, ready to go.
Give it a taste to see
how it's grown sweet and saucy with time.
There's no need to add sugar to tomato sauce,
just salt and freshly ground pepper.
Make sure to fish out any basil stems.
Set aside and keep warm until ready to serve.
Next up, we're heating a quart of peanut oil
to 350 degrees Fahrenheit,
and dropping in our chicken,
frying for roughly five minutes
until deeply golden brown on the outside,
and cooked through.
This shouldn't take too long,
so long as your oil is hot and your chicken is thin.
Fish out the pieces once they're done,
and let them drain on paper towels.
This is gonna soak up excess oil and keep them crisp.
Rinse and repeat with the remaining chicken,
and then it's time to finish.
So go ahead and preheat your broiler,
because we wanna get stuff bubbly.
Our chicken cutlets are headed onto a wire rack,
set in a rim baking sheet,
where they shall be topped with a couple of things.
First up some fresh basil.
Now I know what you're saying, basil under the broiler?
But don't worry, it's going to be protected by the cheese.
Copious slices of fresh mozzarella,
about as much as you can fit on there.
And to assist with both flavor and browning,
some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
This is where you wanna use
the freshly grated stuff if possible.
These guys are headed under the broiler
for just a few minutes,
just enough time to get our pasta ready.
You'll notice that we got the pasta boiling in a pot,
right next to a big old saute pan.
That's because we're finishing the pasta in the sauce.
Few generous ladle fulls,
that we're gonna put over medium heat.
Until just bubbling, add in the pasta
when it's just about a minute shy of done.
We're then gonna finish cooking the pasta in the sauce,
along with about a half cup of pasta water.
Is both gonna finish cooking the pasta,
and help emulsify the sauce and make it almost creamy.
But a few things that are gonna make it actually creamy,
once it's done kill the heat,
add some freshly chopped basils,
some freshly shaved Parmesan.
And because we're decidedly
not trying to be healthy with this meal,
a couple tablespoons of unsalted butter.
This is how you take pasta with tomato sauce
to the next level.
Meanwhile, our chicken cutlets are out the oven,
and looking pretty awesome.
But I know you're going to say,
Babish why are you doing that with your hands?
Also, why you melting cheese on fried chicken,
and calling it chicken Parm?
Well, I'll tell you why.
Because once we proudly plate up our poultry on tapper,
prominent peak of pasta.
Brown sauce up the cutlets on top of the cheese.
I know that this is not the most traditional look,
but it prevents the chicken's crust from getting soggy,
so that even leftovers will remain pleasantly crisp.
Not that there's gonna be any leftovers.
Once we hit this with shaved Parmesan
and a little bit of fresh basil,
it becomes one of the most
easily demolishable dishes in Basics Babish history.
This has gotta be one of my top five favorite dishes.
And without question would be my last meal.
So before you head to the pearly gates,
make sure you try this at least once.
It's worth the time, it's worth the effort,
it's worth the calories,
it's worth repeatedly scalding the roof of your mouth,
and having an Italian-American hangover the next day.
Hope you guys try it for yourselves.
Let me know what you think and remember,
stay crispy out there.
Thank you again to Trade Coffee for sponsoring this episode.
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from the nation's top roasters.
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(upbeat music)