Chicken Parmigiana, new style from Lidia

By susanwadle

Ingredients

• 4 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, or breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• all-purpose flour for dredging
• 3/4 cup fine dry breadcrumbs or seasoned breadcrumbs
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil, or as needed
• 3 ripe plum tomatoes, cored and sliced thin
• 6 ounces fresh mozzarella or imported Fontina cheese, sliced thin
• For the Sauce
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling over the finished dish
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 8 ripe tomatoes or 12 plum tomatoes, peeled seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from lidiasitaly.com

Preparation

Step 1

Cut off any fat, bone and gristle remaining on the chicken thighs. Place two thighs between two sheets of plastic wrap. Pound them lightly with the toothed side of a meat mallet to a more or less even thickness. Don't overpound the thighs or they will shred and be difficult to bread and cook. Season the chicken thighs lightly with salt and pepper. Spread out the flour and breadcrumbs on two separate plates. Beat the eggs in a wide shallow bowl until thoroughly blended. Dredge the chicken in flour to coat lightly and tap off excess flour. Dip the thighs in the beaten egg, hold them over the bowl, letting the excess egg drip back into the bowl. Transfer the chicken, one piece at a time to the plate of breadcrumbs, turn it to coat with breadcrumbs, patting gently and making sure that each thigh is well coated with breadcrumbs.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wide, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until a corner of one of the coated thighs gives off a lively sizzle when dipped in the oil. Add as many of the chicken pieces as fit without touching to the oil. Fry, turning once, until golden on both sides and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove to a baking sheet lined with paper towels and drain well.

Preheat the oven to 400 Degrees F.

Prepare the sauce: Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a wide non-reactive skillet. Whack the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and drop them into the oil. Cook, shaking the pan, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully slide the chopped tomatoes into the skillet, season lightly with salt and pepper and cook until lightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Bake the chicken until the cheese is lightly browned, about 10 minutes. While the chicken is baking, reheat the tomato sauce to simmering, stir in the basil and taste, seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary. Spoon the sauce onto a heated platter or plates and place the chicken over the sauce. Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over the sauce and serve immediately.