Name: Chicken parmigiana
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: AU-Italian
Ingredients: 3 chicken breasts (about 300 g each), halved horizontally to make 6 steaks; 1 tsp cooking salt; ½ tsp black pepper; ½ tsp Italian mixed herbs; ⅓ cup plain flour; 2 eggs; 1 garlic clove, minced; ¼ tsp salt and pepper (egg); ¼ tsp Italian mixed herbs (egg); 1½ cups panko breadcrumbs; ½ cup finely grated parmesan (crumb); ½ tsp salt (crumb); ¼ tsp black pepper (crumb); Oil for shallow frying (about 2 cups); 1 tbsp olive oil (sauce); 2 garlic cloves, minced (sauce); ¼ cup very finely chopped onion; ¼ tsp chilli flakes (optional); ¼ tsp Italian mixed herbs (sauce); 60 ml (¼ cup) white wine (optional); 400 g tomato passata; 125 ml (½ cup) chicken stock; ¼ tsp salt and pepper (sauce); 10 basil leaves, chopped; 2 cups shredded mozzarella; ¾ cup finely grated parmesan (topping); 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (to finish)

Method

Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and herbs. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Sauce: cook garlic and onion in oil 3 minutes. Add chilli and herbs 15 seconds, then wine; reduce until almost gone. Add passata, stock, salt and pepper; simmer covered 10 minutes.
Heat oven to 180°C. Crumb chicken: flour, then egg mixed with garlic and herbs, then panko mixed with parmesan, salt and pepper.
Shallow-fry in 1.5–2 cm oil at about 180°C, 2 minutes first side and 1½ minutes second side, until golden. Drain on a rack.
Spoon sauce over about 80% of each schnitzel (leave edges crisp). Add basil, pile on mozzarella and parmesan, drizzle oil.
Bake 15 minutes until cheese melts with a few brown spots. Serve at once.

Tip: Dry brine keeps the chicken juicy through fry-then-bake. Leave the ends of the schnitzel uncovered so they stay crunchy. Do not bake longer than 15 minutes.