We buy our “happy” chicken from Wagshal’s Market in NW DC and our cheeses from Vace in NW DC or Bethesda, MD. It’s made daily and delicious but just remember to ask for it because they store it behind the counter. You have to be “in the know”.
And… to save time without compromising flavor… we use Michael’s of Brooklyn or Rao’s marinara… both of which may be purchased at a good price point from Rodman’s in NW DC or MD.
Ingredients…
1 cup unbleached white flour
2 large eggs, mixed well… like you mean it!
2 cups coarse breadcrumbs
Extra virgin olive oil
6 Wagshal’s boneless, skinless chicken breasts, air chilled on a platter in the fridge
Marinara
1 medium size ball of fresh Mozzarella
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Flat leaf parsley, chopped finely
Maldon Sea Salt Flakes
Freshly ground peppercorns
To Make…
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Remove chicken breasts from fridge and season them with Maldon Sea Salt Flakes and freshly ground peppercorns.
Now… line up 3 shallow dredging bowls on a countertop near your stove. Pasta bowls work well for this. Put the flour in the bowl furthest from the stove, put the eggs in the middle bowl and put the breadcrumbs in the bowl closest to the stove. Add a pinch or two of chopped parsley to the breadcrumbs and mix gently with your fingers.
Heat a large Lodge cast iron skillet on a medium heat source. Add just enough olive oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan.
Dredge each chicken breast 1st in the flour until lightly coated shaking off excess flour; 2nd in the eggs to coat and 3rd in the breadcrumbs and parsley mixture until well coated.
Now place your coated chicken breast in your skillet and brown on one side and then flipping to brown on the other side. Repeat with all of your chicken breasts working in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan and setting them aside on a platter until all are well browned.
Place the browned chicken breasts back into the Lodge skillet or in a larger casserole dish so they all fit.
Pour a large jar of Marinara over all to cover. Now tear pieces of fresh Mozzarella and place the cheese all over on top. Sprinkle with a handful or two of Parmesan.
Place on the center shelf of your preheated oven and cook for about a half hour or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is lightly browned.
Variation…
For more depth of flavor…
Brown 1 Sweet Italian sausage and 1 Hot Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled in the Lodge cast iron skillet. Remove sausage and set aside. Now proceed with the recipe and start browning chicken breasts as directed.
Add browned and crumbled sausage back into the skillet or casserole along with your browned chicken breasts before pouring Marinara over all and adding your cheeses.
