MSU Executive Chef Kurt Kwiatkowski’s Chicken Parmesan

MSU Executive Chef Kurt Kwiatkowski called in this morning and shared with us his gourmet recipe for Chicken Parmesan. Chef said he told his kid they were having Chicken Parm and they made the mad face, so he called it chicken pizza and they were much more responsive to that. He said they love it and I bet you will too. Click play below to hear the conversation. 

Chef Kurt’s Chicken Parmesan

Red Sauce

2 T. olive oil

½ c. julienne shallots

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 T. tomato paste

2 bay leaves

¼ c. red wine

1 T. dried oregano

1 28oz. can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes

1 T. honey

2 t. balsamic vinegar

¼ c. chopped fresh basil

Chicken

4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts

½ c. flour

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 T. water

1 c. Italian bread crumbs

3 T. olive oil

8oz. fresh mozzarella balls, sliced 1/4“thick

Fresh grated parmesan

Heat olive oil in a sauce pot over medium heat, then sauté onions for 5 minutes and then add garlic, tomato paste and bay leaves and sauté an additional minute. Deglaze pot with red wine, and carefully add the tomatoes by crushing each one in your hand making sure not to splash up. Add sauce from can, honey, and dried oregano and let sauce simmer for 30 minutes to bring flavors together. After sauce has simmered, turn heat to low and add vinegar and basil then season with salt and pepper as needed.

Lay a big piece of plastic wrap on your counter and then put the chicken breasts on, then put another piece of plastic wrap over it and pound the chicken with the back of a saute pan, or a rolling pin until they are even and uniform thickness of about ½”, and season with salt and pepper.

Put the flour in on a plate, the eggs in a bowl and whisk well with the water. Put the bread crumbs on another plate and get them lined up with the bread crumb plate closest to your saute pan and the flour the farthest away.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees, and while that is warming up heat your oil in a non-stick saute pan. Lightly dust each chicken breast with flour then dip into the egg wash to coat, then coat with bread crumbs. Put each chicken breast into the saute pan and cook on each side for about 4 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the pan and put on a baking sheet, ladle sauce over the chicken put slices of the mozzarella and grated parmesan on each and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted well.

You can cook up your favorite pasta and toss with some of the extra sauce and serve it up, or put the sauce in freezer bags, let it cool all the way, seal them up and freeze them for later use.

The Chef calls in a gourmet recipe each week on Friday after 8 am. Find the Chef on Twitter here. Find the Chef on Facebook here.

Get up with Deb and Joey weekdays 6-10 am. Find Joey on Facebook here.