Holiday Italian Recipes

If you would like to make something different for Christmas, there are many Italian recipes which can be used for the holiday. Chicken Parmesan (or Parmigiana) is a recipe that almost everyone will enjoy. It can be used for a main course or in addition to something more traditional, such as a turkey or ham.

Using your best marinara sauce is essential for this recipe, especially if it is a smooth sauce (also called gravy). You don’t want to use a chunky sauce here, as that type of sauce is not ideal for Chicken Parmesan. Make sure you have fresh garlic on hand because this recipe is going to require it. If you don’t have a lot of garlic in the sauce, don’t worry because it will be added at the end of the Chicken Parmesan recipe. Adding garlic at the end of the recipe will make the garlic more fragrant than if it had been added at the beginning.

Give yourself a few hours for this recipe, especially if you are making the sauce along with it. It takes time to cut the chicken to perfection—to set your cooking apart from other Chicken Parmesan recipes, take the time to cut off all the fat and skin from your boneless chicken, even if it means getting rid of a large chunk. You don’t want to serve chicken with any fat in it or it will ruin the recipe. Take the time to cut every last piece of fat, skin and other extraneous pieces from the chicken. It will be worth the effort.

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HOLIDAY ITALIAN RECIPES: CHICKEN PARMESAN

3 whole chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

1 egg

Water

Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, sliced

Marinara sauce

1 pound whole milk mozzarella, sliced thin

Parmesan cheese

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1. Cut up chicken into thin slices, removing all fat, skin and other gristle.
2. Beat egg in small bowl. Add an equal amount of water to the egg.
3. In another small bowl, add a generous amount of breadcrumbs. Season with a few shakes of salt and pepper.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in frying pan. Dip chicken, a few pieces at a time, into egg mixture and then into breadcrumbs, turning to allow breadcrumbs to coat the chicken pieces.
5. Place chicken in frying pan. Be sure not to crowd pieces. If pan is too crowded, you will need to fry the chicken in two batches. Cook chicken over medium heat. Add extra oil as needed. Turn once, when golden, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove chicken to a shallow but roomy baking dish.
6. When all the chicken is in the baking dish, add garlic to the frying pan and cook until soft.
7. Ladle marinara sauce into frying pan and cook for 1-2 minutes. Ladle sauce with garlic over chicken.
8. Place sliced mozzarella pieces on top of chicken. Make sure each piece of chicken is covered. Some pieces will require more than one piece of mozzarella cheese.
9. Sprinkle chicken generously with Parmesan cheese.
10. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake, uncovered, until cheese is melted and chicken is thoroughly cooked and browned. Do not overcook or chicken can be tough. Cooking time should be approximately 12-15 minutes, depending on how hot your oven is.
11. Serve immediately with a vegetable side dish such as string beans, peas or your favorite fresh vegetable.

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