Date Night Chicken Parmigiana

I was going to have a lovely post about saving money on date nights and how food always seems to play a central role in keeping fun in our marriage but… I broke a finger and typing is a cruel activity now that my pointer finger is in a splint.  I want to do as little as possible now that I am typing less efficiently than I did in grade 4 learning on All the Right Type…

Lesson for all you Food Bloggers out there: Type up your recipe as soon as you can. Don’t wait until after the photos have been taken and edited to look back at your kitchen notebook to decipher your scribbles and write your cute anecdote. Write first, then do photos!

This is a bit of a longer recipe with three parts since my Chicken Parmigiana is fully from scratch. I really dislike buying pasta sauce from the store. I mean, you can if you want and it will save you time but the point of this recipe is an elegant  dish to serve to your significant other on date night. Saying you bought a jar of whatever was on sale and pouring it on top of your carefully breaded chicken kind of defeats the purpose, no?

Date Night Chicken Parmigiana

Tomato Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1/8 cup chopped onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, strained and squished
• splash of red wine
• 1/8 cup water
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon dried herbs (Italian blend or oregano and basil, based on taste preference)

Chicken Ingredients:

• 2 boneless and skinless chicken breasts, flattened
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon pepper
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup bead crumbs
• 1 tablespoon dried herbs (same type as above)

Pasta Ingredients:

• half package of small box of spaghetti noodles*
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped flat leaf Italian parsley

* Different pasta brands boxes vary in size and vary be around 450 -500 grams, the difference is minimal and won’t affect the overall dish

Topping Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/8 cup of fresh chopped flat leaf Italian parsley

Method:

1. In small sauce pan, heat olive oil and lightly brown onions over medium heat.
2. Add garlic, diced tomatoes, red wine, water, sugar, salt and herbs. Stir to combine. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat and let cook for 20 minutes or until thickened, stirring often.
3. Pre-heat oven to 375 and prep breading station:
   • In shallow small bowl, mix flour and salt and pepper
   • In separate shallow bowl, add beaten egg
   • In a third shallow bowl mix, bread crumbs and herbs
4. Using a meat mallet, flatten-out chicken breast. Place one breast at a time in the flour mixture, coating evenly. Dip in beaten egg and then in breadcrumb mixture, ensuring all sides are fully covered. Place on baking sheet.
5. Cook in oven for 20 minutes, flipping half way through.
6. Once chicken is browned and crispy, spoon tomato sauce on top of the breasts and cover with mozzarella and parmesan. Return to oven for 5 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
7. Meanwhile, while chicken is baking, cook noodles in boiling salted water to preferred density.
8. Once done, drain and toss with olive oil, salt, parmesan and parsley.
9. Remove chicken from oven. Plate noodles and place chicken breast on top of  noodles. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and parsley.

Serves two!