This Chicken Parmigiana recipe was created by the first year Home Economics students from St Mary's CBS Mullingar, Co Westmeath.
Ingredients
Serves 2 (each serving contains approximately 596 kcal, 35g protein, 27g fat, 56g carbohydrates)
- 1 small onion (75g)
- 1 small carrot (75g)
- 1 celery stick (35g)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons rapeseed or olive oil (30g)
- 200g tinned chopped tomatoes or passata (Italian sieved tomatoes)
- 80g wholewheat spaghetti
- 1 skinless chicken fillet (150g)
- 1 tablespoon plain flour (15g)
- 1 egg
- 1 slice wholegrain bread (32g)
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan (10g)
- 2 x 25g slices mozzarella cheese
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Handful fresh basil leaves, to garnish (optional)
Method
- Cut the onion in half, then peel and dice. Peel and trim the carrot and then finely chop. Trim the celery and finely chop. Peel and crush the garlic.
- To make the sauce, heat a pan over a medium heat. Add half the oil with the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes until softened but not coloured. Season with pepper and stir in the tomatoes or passata, then simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened. Blitz with a hand blender until smooth, adding a little water if necessary to make a thick sauce.
- Meanwhile, plunge the spaghetti into a large pan of boiling water and cook for 10-12 minutes or according to packet instructions until just tender.
- Cut the chicken in half so you have two thin fillets, then cover with parchment paper and bash with a rolling pin until they are the same thickness all over. Put the flour in a shallow dish. Break the egg into another dish, then season with pepper and lightly beat. Blitz the bread into breadcrumbs and put into a third dish with the Parmesan, stirring to combine. Working with one piece of chicken at a time, lightly coat in the flour, then dip into the beaten egg, and finally coat in the breadcrumb mixture. Transfer the breadcrumbed fillets to a baking sheet as you go.
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the rest of the oil and cook the breadcrumbed chicken fillets for 3 minutes on each side until crisp and golden brown.
- Heat the grill to high. Arrange the chicken on a baking tray and spoon a little of the sauce over the middle of each fillet, then top each one with mozzarella. Grill the fillets for 2 minutes until the mozzarella is melted and bubbling. Test with a small knife to ensure the chicken is cooked through.
- Drain the spaghetti and fold in the rest of the tomato sauce. Divide between plates and add a chicken Parmigiano to each one. Garnish with basil, if liked to serve.
