Chicky Chicky Parm Parm

Happy Monday, and welcome back dear readers! Can you believe that we’re almost done the first month of 2021? We thought we’d never get here and yet, here we are. Here at our place, Liz and I find ourselves firmly entrenched inside against a snowy, cold Ottawa winter. If I’m looking for a sliver lining, it’s that there’s no better time of year for a stay-home mandate than this.

I’ve been feeling nostalgic lately, nostalgic for restaurants. I’m sure I’m not alone. The experience of dining in a restaurant, specifically. I was thinking about restaurants I’ve been to, which led me to think about restaurants I worked at.

Early in my career I bounced around Ottawa’s ByWard Market. There were a ton of tourist-focused restaurants down there in those days, as well as a few hidden gems. But I certainly didn’t work at the gems. Fresh out of a one-year culinary program I’d mostly slept through, I had a big ego, but lacked any REAL food knowledge. One busy restaurant was the same as another to my inexperienced gaze.

After a stint at the now-defunct Médetheo (which I loved and miss), I landed at the now-defunct Stella Osteria. This place was meant to be a busy, hip, upscale Italian casual fine dining something. I just remember it being a pirate ship. Relentlessly busy in the summer, we had a swelling crew of booze and cocaine fueled cooks either dealing with the constant all-day-long stream of orders on the too-small line or prepping furiously in the too-small basement prep room. This was no NOMA, no Eleven Madison Park.

Cases of Romaine lettuce for Caesar salad being brought up to be served as soon as they were rustically chopped. Pizza dough that had barely enough time to proof before being balled out and sent upstairs. Cases and cases and cases of fettucine, tagliatelle, rigatoni and other shapes, all blanched, shocked, oiled and laid out on sheet pans to cool, before being fed right back, usually to me, the world’s most beleaguered pasta-boy. The pasta station at Stella was a monster, with at least a quarter of the menu dedicated to it and at least half of the orders per service aimed straight at it.

Listen, that place was no 5-macaron, Michelin star joint. As a staff, we were all a mess. The food… I mean, we were doing what we could, but between the poor organization, the unpredictable and sometimes soul-crushing services and the general state of squalor we cooks were living in, it could have been a lot better. But as I look back now, I see that a lot of it certainly had potential.

We must’ve served more chicken Parmesan there than a lot of other dishes combined. This dish was a triple whammy for the line. The fry-guy had to bread and drop the chicken in the fryer, then dress it and flash it under the broiler. The entremetier guy had to cook the broccolini, which has the unfortunate superpower of going cold IMMEDIATELY if the rest of the plate isn’t ready. And the poor, beleaguered pasta-shmuck had to put on yet another small pan for a side of spaghetti pomodoro. Don’t even get me started on the veal parm.

But everyone loves chicken parm, and what’s not to love? If the chicken is cooked properly, the coating well-seasoned and crispy, if the cheese is melty and the sauce delicious, you’re in for a good time! So, let’s pull this relic, kicking and screaming from my sieve-like memory of those days and do it justice.

Chicken Parmesan (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 796mL can whole Roma tomatoes
• 1 tsp dried basil, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp dried oregano, plus more to taste
• 1-2 sprigs fresh basil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 bunch broccolini (or rapini)
• 136 g (1 cup) all purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 119g (1 cup) panko
• 200g Parmesan cheese, grated on a Microplane grater, or more if you like life cheesy
• 1 ball fresh, buffalo-milk mozzarella, drained and sliced into thin discs
• 100g pasta (while spaghetti is traditional(?) I went with rotini)
• Basil leaves, optional garnish

Method:

1. Start by preparing the sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat combine a drizzle of canola oil with the onion and a large pinch of salt. Sweat until soft and very translucent, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the tomato paste, stirring well to combine and cook for 1-2 minutes longer. Next, add the whole tomatoes and their liquid, as well as ¼ can of water. Crush the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Add the dried basil and oregano and bring the mixture to a slow simmer.
3. Once simmering lay the basil sprigs on top of the sauce to infuse. Reduce the heat to maintain the slow simmer and cook for minimum 1 hour, until thick and flavourful. Discard the basil sprig, season to taste with salt and pepper, and keep warm on the back of the stove.
4. While the sauce is reducing, lay a sheet of plastic wrap over a cutting board. Place the chicken breasts on it, points facing away from you. Cover them with a second piece of plastic wrap and pound the rounded thick ends (the ones facing you) with a flat meat-pounder, heavy rolling pin or cast-iron pan. You want the thick end pounded down to uniform thickness with the thin end. Once uniformly thin, place the breast on a plate between layers of paper towel and set aside.
5. Bring a heavily-salted medium saucepan of water to boil over high heat. Trim the ends off the broccolini, and halve any thick spears. Blanch the broccolini in the boiling water for 1-2 minutes, then drain and shock in cold water. Lay the broccolini out on paper towels to drain and set aside.
6. Set up the breading station. Find three bowls that will easily accommodate the pounded chicken breasts. In the first, place the flour and season well with salt and pepper. In the second crack the eggs and beat well with a fork for about a minute. And in the last, place the panko, seasoning well with crushed red pepper, dried basil, dried oregano and some of the grated Parmesan, if you wish. Mix the flour and breadcrumbs each well with a fork, to evenly distribute the seasonings.
7. Dip one chicken breast first into the flour, ensuring every inch is covered. Gently shake off the excess, then dip into the egg, again ensuring complete coverage. Finally, cover the breast well with the breadcrumb mixture and set aside on a clean plate. Repeat with the other breast.
8. Here’s where things get restaurant-y. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to the boil over high heat. Turn the broiler on high. In a large, heavy cast-iron pan heat about an inch of canola oil to almost smoking over medium high heat. Once the water is boiling and the oil is hot, add your pasta to the water and give it a stir. Then CAREFULLY slip your breaded chicken breasts into the oil and lower the heat to medium. Cook the chicken about 3-4 minutes per side, making sure the breadcrumbs become a deep golden-brown, but don’t burn.
9. Once the chicken is well cooked on both sides, transfer to a foil or parchment lined sheet pan. Top with the slices of mozzarella and grated Parmesan and finish under the broiler, 1-2 minutes. Meanwhile, drain the pasta and toss back in the same pot with a knob of butter, MOST of the tomato sauce and grated Parmesan. Heat a small pan of olive oil over medium heat and warm the broccolini in it, seasoning with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.
10. Divide the pasta between two warm plates. Drain excess oil and divide the broccolini between the two plates. Remove the chicken from the oven, and place one breast per plate. Top the breasts with the remaining sauce, just enough to lightly blanket the cheese, but not enough to make the whole thing soggy. Garnish with more grated Parmesan and a basil leaf, if desired.

For a dish that rather fell out of fashion, I can’t praise this one enough. It’s simple to do at home and it chases the winter blues away like nobody’s business. Plus, we fixed some of those old Stella mistakes by a) not pounding the shit out of the chicken and tearing it, b) not frying it in a dirty, overworked deep-fryer, c) seasoning everything, every step of the way and d) not cooking it while under the influence.

I’d like to say that posting will resume some form of regularity soon, but I’m working on a rather large and exciting top-secret project. I can’t wait to be able to share the details with all of you. In the meantime, let me know what’s on your minds! Ottawa friends! Do any of you remember Stella Osteria? Have any thoughts about chicken parmesan? Any recipe or topic suggestions? Shoot me an email or leave a comment below! Can’t wait to hear from you!