New Chicken "Parm"
Dinner in 30 Minutes
- Course: Main Course
- Features: Fast, Kid-Friendly, Gluten-Free
Summary:
Hey, kids: It's your turn to make the evening meal. Here's an easy recipe, tested by someone who's just like you. Cooks ages 9 to 19 (including the author's own 13-year-old daughter) worked on this and about 79 other recipes in Rozanne Gold's new "Eat Fresh Food."
This dish is particularly fun to put together, with the familiar flavors of chicken Parmesan made fresh and light.
Serve with a salad and/or pasta.
4 to 5 servings
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 large clove garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces grape tomatoes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- Large pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 pounds (4 large) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 5 ounces fresh whole-milk or part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Pour the oil into a small bowl. Use a garlic press to squeeze the garlic into the bowl, then add the salt and whisk to combine.
Place the tomatoes in a medium bowl; add 2 tablespoons of the garlicky oil, along with the oregano and crushed red pepper flakes. Toss to coat the tomatoes evenly, then spread them on one half of the lined baking sheet.
Trim off and discard any fat from the chicken breasts; cut the breasts to form 4 pieces of equal size, using the trimmed pieces to form a fifth serving as needed.
Use the remaining garlicky oil to coat the portions of chicken on both sides. Place them on the other side of the lined baking sheet.
Cut the mozzarella cheese into thin slices. Put 1 cup of the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on a plate.
Dip one side of each piece of chicken into the grated cheese, pressing the cheese so it sticks. Return the chicken to the baking sheet, cheesy sides up. Bake the chicken and tomatoes for 10 to 12 minutes, until some of the tomatoes have started to deflate, the cheese has melted and the chicken is firm to the touch (it will be almost cooked through).
Place overlapping slices of mozzarella on top of each piece of chicken; return the sheet to the oven and cook for about 2 minutes or until the mozzarella has melted to your liking.
Transfer the chicken to individual plates, placing some of the baked tomatoes on top of and/or around the chicken. Use the remaining 1/4 cup of grated cheese to garnish each portion. Serve hot.
Recipe Source:
Adapted from Gold's "Eat Fresh Food: Awesome Recipes for Teen Chefs" (Bloomsbury, 2009).
E-mail the Food Section with recipe questions.
(Michael Temchine for The Washington Post)
