Directions:
Cut chicken breasts into thin cutlets. You should be able to get about 5 cutlets per breast.
Next, whisk 2 eggs in a bowl and set aside. Then in a separate shallow plate mix together grated parmesan, parsley, ground pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, and dried basil.
Before coating the chicken, heat up the oil in your pan over medium heat. We used corn oil, but you can use whichever you prefer. To know if your oil is hot enough, simply put some water on your fingers and flick some water onto the oil. If it starts to crack immediately then it’s ready for frying.
We suggest not to pre-coat all the chicken first and then go to fry it all. Instead, coat the chicken and immediately put it in the pan to fry. Fry up 2 at a time. While those 2 are frying, you can coat your next 2 and get them ready to go in the pan when the others come off. The reason for this is that the grated parmesan coating doesn’t hold up like traditional breadcrumbs. The moisture from the egg and chicken causes it to get soggy if it sits too long before frying.
To coat the chicken, simply dip it in the egg, then dip it in the grated parmesan cheese mixture. Be sure both sides of the cutlet are completely covered. Then fry them in the pan for about 3 minutes per side. If you have a food thermometer, cook the chicken until it has an internal temperate of 165° F.
After all your chicken is fried up and looking delicious, now is the time to make the sauce.
In a sauce pan, sautè the chopped garlic and onions in the olive oil over medium heat. You don’t want the garlic to brown too much, but just a hint of color. If the garlic burns even a little, start over. This is a classic mistake which will add a ton of bitterness to your sauce. Next, grab your strainer and pass the crushed tomatoes through it. This step is extremely important because you do not want the tomato seeds in your sauce. They will also cause it to be bitter. In these two tips, lies the secret to a sweet, delicious sauce without having to add a bunch of other ingredients to help the taste.
If you would like to order a strainer, you can either look for a “strainer and pestle”, which is what we used for this video (I personally used a vintage one, usually about $15 on eBay) or you can look for a mill by searching for a “tomato strainer”.
Once the sauce is strained, season the sauce with salt and pepper. Give it a nice stir, turn down the heat to low, and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Be sure to stir the sauce every 5 minutes during this time.
After the sauce has been simmering for 30 minutes, now would be a good time to preheat your oven to 400° F.
Once 30 minutes is up, add your fresh basil leaf to the sauce and stir. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes and then remove it from the heat.
Put your fried chicken cutlets on a baking sheet and put 2-3 tablespoons of marinara sauce on top. Then lastly, top it off with a slice of fresh mozzarella. Of course, if you don’t have fresh mozzarella, you can use Polly-o. Put it in the oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is completely melted. And that’s it!
Nutritional Facts (per cutlet)
Calories – 273.1
Fat – 18.9
Net Carbs – 2.2
Protein – 22.4