This is a more contemporary version of one of the standbys of Italian-American cooking. Instead of coating a thin, breaded, and fried chicken cutlet with tomato sauce, I like to top a chicken thigh with sliced fresh tomatoes and slices of fresh mozzarella or Fontina cheese.A light sauce made with fresh tomatoes and basil finishes the plate. Fontina is a mellow, lightly aged cow’s-milk cheese that melts beautifully. Take the time to search out Italian Fontina—you’ll appreciate the creamy difference. You can prepare this dish using veal or pork cutlets as well (see variations below).

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　4 boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds)

　　Salt

　　Freshly ground black pepper

　　All-purpose flour

　　3/4 cup fine, dry bread crumbs or Seasoned Bread Crumbs 2 (page 20)

　　2 large eggs

　　1 cup vegetable oil, or as needed

　　3 ripe plum tomatoes, cored and sliced thin

　　6 ounces fresh mozzarella or Italian Fontina cheese, sliced thin

　　

For the Sauce

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling over the finished dish

　　6 cloves garlic, peeled

　　8 ripe tomatoes or

　　12 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (see page 9)

　　1/4 cup shredded fresh basil leaves

　　

Step 1

Cut off any fat, bone, and gristle remaining on the chicken thighs. Place two thighs between two sheets of plastic wrap. Pound them lightly with the toothed side of a meat mallet to a more or less even thickness. Don’t over-pound the thighs or they will shred and be difficult to bread and cook. Repeat with the remaining thighs. Season the chicken thighs lightly with salt and pepper. Spread out the flour and bread crumbs on two separate plates. Beat the eggs in a wide, shallow bowl until thoroughly blended. Dredge the chicken in flour to coat lightly and tap off excess flour. Dip the thighs in the beaten egg and hold them over the bowl, letting the excess egg drip back into the bowl. Transfer the chicken, one piece at a time, to the plate of bread crumbs; turn it to coat with bread crumbs, patting gently and making sure that each thigh is well coated with bread crumbs.

　　

Step 2

Heat the vegetable oil in a wide, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until a corner of one of the coated thighs gives off a lively sizzle when dipped in the oil. Add to the oil as many of the chicken pieces as fit without touching. Fry, turning once, until golden on both sides and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove to a baking sheet lined with paper towels and drain well.

　　

Step 3

Remove the paper towels from the baking sheet. Top each chicken thigh with overlapping slices of tomato, dividing the tomato evenly. Drape the sliced cheese over the tomatoes to cover the chicken completely. (The chicken parmigiana can be prepared to this point up to several hours in advance. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.) Preheat the oven to 400° F.

　　

Prepare the sauce

Step 4

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a wide, nonreactive skillet. Whack the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and drop them into the oil. Cook, shaking the pan, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully slide the chopped tomatoes into the skillet, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook until lightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

　　

Step 5

Bake the chicken until the cheese is lightly browned, about 10 minutes. While the chicken is baking, reheat the tomato sauce to simmering, stir in the basil, and taste, seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary. Spoon the sauce onto a heated platter or plates, and place the chicken over the sauce. Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over the sauce and serve immediately.

　　

Variations: Pork or Veal Parmigiana

Step 6

Pound four 5-ounce pork or veal cutlets with a meat mallet, one at a time, between two sheets of plastic wrap to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Bread, brown, and bake the cutlets as described above, and serve them with the same fresh tomato sauce.

　　From Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Copyright © 2001 by A La Carte Communications and Tutti a Tavola, LLC. Published by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.Buy the full book from Amazon.