Celebrating Heritage British Food & Cooking
Here’s an easy, homemade chicken parmo recipe that’s a Teesside classic. Put tomato sauce on the bottom to keep the chicken nice and juicy.
The area has a fine long-established industrial heritage of iron and steel making. The Tees Valley area is home now to over 1400 companies in the chemical industry.
Teesside is the area surrounding the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. Why this area should claim the parmo as its classic takeaway was a bit of a mystery to me?
Now, the parmo’s history is quite interesting. US Army chef Nicos Harris was wounded in France during the second world war. So like many injured soldiers, he came to a British hospital for treatment.
After his recovery, Nicos moved to Middlesborough in Teesside and opened a restaurant called ‘The American Grill’. He first served the parmo in 1958 based on a recipe from Parmigiana in Italy. Nicos remembered the cheesy topped chicken creation from something he had tasted back in the 1930s.
The parmo has made its way from Italy to the UK via the US and it is very welcome. I only discovered this dish recently and it is already a favourite of ours.
Chicken Parmo
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 4 chicken breasts butterflied and slightly flattened
- 100 g plain flour
- 2 eggs free-range, beaten
- 75 g Parmesan cheese grated
- 75 g breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- fresh basil leaves a few, finely chopped
- salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 100 ml red wine
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 400 g chopped tomatoes tinned or fresh equivalent
- 1 pinch sugar optional
- salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
To assemble
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 balls mozzarella sliced
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Season the flour and place on one plate, put the beaten eggs on another and mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and herbs on a third plate.
- Dip each chicken piece in the flour, then dust off any excess and drop into the egg. Finally coat in the breadcrumb and parmesan mixture, pressing it into the chicken firmly.
- Arrange the chicken on a baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake for around 12-15 minutes, or until just cooked through.
- To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the onion. Fry until very soft – you want it translucent and buttery – then add the garlic. Cook for a further 2 minutes, then add the red wine. Allow to bubble fiercely until the volume of liquid has reduced by half, then add the oregano and tomatoes.
- Season with salt and pepper. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, then remove the lid. Taste and add a pinch of sugar if you think the tomatoes aren’t sweet enough. Simmer for a further 10 minutes, uncovered, until you have a well reduced sauce – you don’t want anything too wet for this dish as it will make the chicken soggy.
- To assemble, take a large, shallow oven dish which will take all the chicken in a single layer. Cut the garlic clove in half and rub it over the dish.
- Spread the tomato sauce over the base of the dish, then top with the chicken. Arrange the mozzarella on top until the chicken is almost completely covered. Bake in the oven for around 15-20 minutes, or until everything is piping hot and the mozzarella is melted and browned. Serve with a few basil leaves scattered over.
You may also like one of my other recipes …
