Chicken Parm, Batali

Chicken Parm, per Mario Batali. This is one of our favorite family recipes, and my wife Ligaya has got it down to a gourmet science! Better than any restaurant. Here is the recipe....

¼ cup extra virgin olive oli

1 ¾ cups chopped onion

4 cloves minced garlic

¾ cup coarse grated peeled carrots

3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

2 28-oz cans Manzano steamed peeled whole tomatoes

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add carrots and thyme. Continue saute another 5 minutes or so. Add tomatoes w juice; bring to boil while crushing tomatoes with potato masher. Simmer around one hour until sauce renders down and thickens. Season to taste with salt & pepper, Italian herbs, etc. Note: go easy on the salt, since the cheeses add a lot of salt content.

Slice fresh skinless chicken breasts into thin halves or thirds. Place slices in plastic bag or between sheets of plastic wrap, and pound until evenly thin and tender. Season chicken with salt, pepper, poultry seasonings (again, go very easy on the salt).

Dredge the chicken slices in flour.

Whisk the eggs; then dip the flour’d chicken in the egg wash.

Prepare homemade breadcrumbs from crustless French bread that has been sliced, baked a bit, and then coarsely ground in food processor. Make sure that bread has cooled before grinding.

Coat both sides of the dredged chicken with breadcrumbs.

Saute the breaded chicken in a skillet with a shallow amount of olive & peanut oils, until the crust on both sides is golden brown. Place on wire cooling rack and allow to drain.

Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (reduces the cleanup). Drizzle some sauce over the baking sheet, and then add one layer of the chicken breasts.

Drizzle (but do not drench) more sauce over the tops of the breasts.

3 cups of sliced, fresh (water packed) mozzarella

1.25 cups of fresh, coarse grated, fresh Pecorino Romano

1.25 cups of freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano

Top the chicken breasts with a blend of the grated cheeses, and then add a layer of the sliced mozo. Sprinkle some more of the grated cheeses over the mozo.

Bake at 350 until the cheese begins to melt. Kick on the broiler, and WATCH closely. Do NOT turn away. The broiling will give some color and crispness to the cheeses, but be very careful to not burn.

Sprinkle some chopped fresh Italian parsley and chopped fresh marjoram on the breasts before serving. Provide extra sauce in a bowl as well.