Chicken Sorrentino

Chicken Sorrentino

 4 servings

OBJ: TCW be able to make her own rendition of her husband’s favorite restaurant dish

Ingredients:

2 medium size chicken cutlets, pounded thin, then cut in ½ width wise (so you have 4 thin pieces total)

2 C Italian breadcrumbs

2 large eggs

2 C flour

1 C vegetable oil

1 medium eggplant, sliced into ¼ in rounds

1 C shredded mozzarella cheese

½ C parmesan cheese

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can whole plum tomatoes

¼  C extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for eggplant baking sheet

½ small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves minced

1 tsp dried parsley

¼ dry red wine (I used merlot, but use what you drink)

Salt & Pepper (S & P)

Part 1: Make chunky tomato sauce, roasted eggplant, and chicken cutlets

Sauce:

1.      In a large sauce pot or deep sauté dish, place 2 TBS of olive oil in pan, heat over medium- low flame

2.      Add onions, garlic, parsley flakes, a pinch S & P and let heat through for about 10 minutes, or until onions become translucent

3.      Add whole can of diced tomatoes with the juice, then use hands to tear whole tomatoes into pieces. Add tomatoes to pan and only ½ of the juice from that can

4.      Clean diced tomato can out with red wine and pour into pot/pan

5.      Add S & P ( about 1 tsp each)

6.      Up the flame and bring to boil, cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes

7.      Uncover and leave over low flame for about 30-45 minutes, for the sauce to thicken. Stir frequently throughout

Eggplant:

1.      Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lay out your eggplant slices on a wire rack, sprinkle with salt and let sweat for about 15 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels

2.      Drizzle about 2 tsp of olive oil on 2 baking sheets and rub around so that the baking sheet is “oiled”

3.      Sprinkle S & P over one side of the eggplant while they are on the wire rack, and then place this side down on the “oiled” sheet. Using a brush, brush an additional 1-2 TBS of olive oil over eggplant slices and sprinkle with S & P

4.      Roast for 20 minutes, turning over ½ way through

Chicken cutlets:

1.      In a large frying sauté pan, heat 1 C of vegetable oil, it should be about ¼ up sides of pan

2.      Create an assembly line with the following in their own shallow dish:  beaten eggs, flour, and bread crumbs. Add additional S & P to each dish

3.      Dip each piece of chicken in flour, dust off excess, then egg, drip to release extra egg, then finally breadcrumbs. Then place chicken in frying pan once oil is hot (sprinkle some breadcrumbs to see if they bubble or place the wooden end of your spoon into oil and if bubbles come up, you’re ready to fry!)

4.      Turn over chicken after 4 -5 minutes, or until golden brown

5.      Let other side brown, transfer to baking dish

Part 2: Assemble Entrée!!!

1.      Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2.      Place ¾ of the chunky sauce on the bottom of your baking dish (13 x 9 or 9 x 9 would work, depending on size of chicken)

3.      Place chicken cutlets around on top of the sauce, spoon and spread the additional ¼ of sauce over each cutlet

4.      Place 2 slices of roasted eggplant on top of the sauce on each cutlet (it will overlap, its okay)

5.      Sprinkle equal amounts of mozzarella cheese over each cutlet

6.      Sprinkle with equal amounts of parmesan cheese

7.      Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes, take foil off for an additional 10 minutes

8.      Serve!

** I served this with pasta tossed with a little olive oil, butter, grated garlic and parmesan cheese. It made for a great accompaniment. Also, the sauce, eggplant and chicken can all be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to assemble.**