A Parmesan to Please Anyone

My brother is a notoriously picky eater. Seriously picky. The food items he added to his list of good eats last year? Garlic bread and guacamole. Who isn’t born loving garlic bread? This kid. His diet during his teenage years consisted of meat and cheese sandwiches with mayo, spaghetti, cheese pizza, the most basic Chinese food (i.e. lo mein or beef with broccoli), and assorted fast foods.

It’s amazing what things he’ll try when he’s in the home of others. I think he once had beef tongue at a Columbian friend’s house. I want proof. Nonetheless, when he’s at home, and we ask him to try something new, he’ll usually shrug away, and if he doesn’t like what we’re eating, well, there’s a McDonalds down the road.

So when I was home for winter break, I made it my mission to make a meal for my family that everyone, especially my brother, would love. I started brainstorming with the basics: meat, cheese, and pasta, and came up with Chicken Parmesan.

Even though I thought my brother would love it, I have never once in my life ordered Chicken Parmesan. I’ve seen others order it in restaurants and it always seems to consist of thin pieces of chicken weighed down by a thick and heavy fried coating with some sauce, cheese, and pasta. The dish itself just doesn't seem like it could be all that spectacular. But then I began making this recipe, and my love affair with Chicken Parm (and Emeril recipes) was born.

Just wait until you smell the sauce roasting in the oven. The heavenly smell will give you no choice but to believe that you are in for a delicious meal. I’ve talked about the sauce before. It’s my favorite tomato sauce. And the chicken? Don’t be afraid to use fat plump and juicy chicken breasts. It turns out that once you get a nice sear or crust on a piece of meat, you can transfer it to the oven and it will turn out moist, tender, and perfectly cooked. You’ll need a cast-iron skillet for this because what starts on the stove top will be finished in the oven. My skillet has become my favorite thing to cook with because it heats quickly and evenly. And it really helps achieve a crunchy coating. You’ll also need an immersion blender (a good old-fashion blender works just fine) to puree the sauce. The sauce takes an hour to prepare since it’s oven-roasted, but if you make it ahead of time, you could pull this meal together in 15 minutes or so. And I’ve never been much of a leftover girl, but even this chicken tastes good a day or two after; the coating is so thin and crisp that it doesn’t get soggy in the fridge!

And vegetarians, don't fret! You can make a delicious Parmesan with tender eggplant! In fact, this sauce is so bangin' that I improvised this veggie version for my beau on our forth date to win him over and it totally worked! He'll get a craving for this every once in a while, and it takes us back to our first few weeks of dating. I knew he liked it, but when a friend recently asked if I made a mean Eggplant Parm, and Mike had a little moment where he pursed his lips, furrowed his brow, and said, "Ooh, yeah she does," I was surprised by just how much I have to thank this recipe for my relationship. 

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I think Mike would prefer a stomach filled with quinoa, bulgar wheat, and kale, but it makes me happy that he'll indulge in my Eggplant Parm. If I made a dinner entirely of hash browns, I think he'd be mine forever...

Chicken Parmesan with Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce

slightly adapted from Emeril Lagasse

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 teaspoons Emeril's Essence

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp milk

3/4 cup dried bread crumbs

4 tbsp olive oil

Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce

sliced mozzarella or provolone 

2 tbsp chopped basil

prepared pasta of your choice (I use whole-wheat linguine)

grated Parmesan cheese

Make the Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce:

3 lbs of Romanita tomatoes (I have never found these, so I use the recommended combination of Roma tomatoes and grape tomatoes), seeded and cored.

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

12 cloves of garlic, peeled

2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves (Use fresh herbs! It makes a huge difference! If you are ever substituting dried herbs for fresh, remember you only need about 1/3 the amount since dry herbs are more potent)

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 400. In a large 14-in cast-iron skillet, combine all the ingredients. Stir to blend then transfer to the oven and cook for about 30 minutes. Remove skillet from the oven, stir well, and return to the oven to cook for another 30 minutes. Tomatoes should be blistered and caramelized. Let the tomatoes cool and then transfer to a blender and process until coarsely pureed. You can refrigeration leftover sauce in an air-tight container for up to 4 days. 

Bring a pot of salted water to boil for pasta and follow the directions for preparing it al dente. 

Preparing the chicken:

Place rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400. Season each chicken breast with 1/2 tsp of Essence and 1/3 tsp salt. Set out your respective flour, egg, and bread crumb bowls. Dredge chicken in flour, dip in egg, and then roll in the bread crumbs (shake off excess between each step). Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place chicken in the skillet and cook for 4 minutes. Turn the chicken, add remaining 2 tbsp of oil and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Spoon some of the tomato sauce over each chicken breast and top with the cheese of your choice (Emeril recommends smoked mozzarella). Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook about 4 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (firm to the touch) and cheese melts. Turn to broil and cook until cheese is bubbly and golden. 

Veggie option:

Slice an eggplant in about 1/4 inch slices and salt liberally on both sides. Let sit for 30 minutes and then rinse the slices and pat them dry. Salting the eggplant removes the bitterness and will yield tender, yummy eggplant. Season with salt and pepper and then proceed to bread the eggplant as you would the chicken. Baking time is obviously less for eggplant-- simply brown in the pan and bake for just a few minutes in the oven. 

Mix the leftover sauce with the amount of pasta you want to serve and add in the basil and some grated Parmesan cheese. The amount of sauce I usually have leftover is just enough to coat the pasta, so if you like really saucy pasta, you might want to have some extra on hand. Serve alongside your chicken/eggplant.