This week I decided to return to an old favorite - Chicken Parmesan. I'd prepared this before, but served it on Italian sub rolls to make it into a hearty sandwich. Tonight, I altered my recipe slightly, drawing from what I had available and what I'd read from a number of recipes. I also served the chicken over angel hair pasta instead doing the carb-heavier sub roll.
The main difference in preparation was my use of panko breadcrumbs instead of traditional breadcrumbs. Panko, simply a Japanese breadcrumb, serves the same purpose as your everyday breadcrumb, but is lighter, flakier, and makes whatever you're cooking more crispy and textured. I happened to have a leftover batch of seasoned panko breadcrumbs from a previous recipe I made. The preparation was as follows:
In a small pan, melt 2 T butter over medium heat until foamed. Add in leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme, 1 T Dijon mustard, and 1 T finely chopped parsley. Remove from heat and whisk vigorously. Add in breadcrumbs, toss to combine, and set aside.
I threw in some oregano just to add some Italian flavor and that was about all the seasoning I needed. The closest overall recipe to match what I prepared is probably Bobby Flay's - he keeps it very simple and straightforward, and also uses panko.
While this dish involves lots of steps (and plates/bowls/cooking space), it's only comprised of a handful of basic ingredients which makes it an easy meal to prepare. Also, there's a ton of flexibility with how you prepare the dish and what you want to add. Tonight, the only thing I had to get from the store was the chicken breast cutlets; everything else I already had in my kitchen (yes, it was lucky that I already had mozzarella cheese and fresh parsley sitting around). Paired with a glass of wine, this is a perfect Sunday evening meal that leaves you with leftovers for the coming week!
More images/preparation details on Flickr.
1 comment:
mmmm nommy. weekly tradition of me coming over every sunday for dinner? yes, thanks. haha :)
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