Having had an abundance of zucchini from our garden this summer, I started dreaming up different ways to use them. I came up with this recipe one evening and it immediately became a favorite.
CHICKEN ZUCCHINI PARMESAN {PRINT THIS RECIPE}
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (seasoned lightly with salt and pepper on both sides)
1 medium/large zucchini or 2 smaller ones
3 cups panko crumbs
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Salt and Pepper
1 large tomato, sliced into 1/4" slices
8 slices Swiss cheese
2 large can diced tomatoes
11/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
Canola oil for frying
-Set up your breading station using 3 separate, low sided dishes.
-In the first one, add the flour and garlic powder. Stir to combine.
-In the second one, add your eggs, slightly beaten with the water
-In the third one, add your panko crumbs and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano and minced onion.
-Slice your zucchini in approximately 1/4" slices.
-Starting with the flour mixture, drop in the zucchini rounds and coat with flour on both sides. Pat off excess. (not shown)
-Transfer your floured discs to the egg mixture and coat with egg on both sides.
-Lastly, add your floured and egged (is this a word?) rounds to the panko crumbs and gently press the crumbs onto both sides of the zucchini.
-Transfer your completed discs to a baking sheet and follow the previous steps with the additional zucchini discs. Set aside. *Note - If you can't tell, I made an abundance of zucchini discs. Many more that what I needed for this particular recipe. They're wonderful on their own too!!!
-With your chicken breasts, follow the exact same steps you did with your eggplant. Flour, egg, panko (not shown)
-Add approximately 2-3 tablespoons of the oil in the bottom of your skillet and heat to medium/high.
-When the oil is shimmering, gently add your chicken breasts to the oil and fry on each side until they are golden brown. *Note - You are not cooking the chicken through here, you're just getting crunch and color.
- Meanwhile, prepare a baking dish by adding some cooking spray and a small amount of crushed tomatoes in the bottom of the dish.
-Transfer your browned chicken to the baking dish and set aside while you prepare your zucchini.
-Gently place your zucchini slices in the oil (adding more if needed) and follow the same procedure you did with the chicken being sure to watch them carefully so they don't burn.
-When your zucchini slices are golden brown, remove them from the oil and place on paper towels to drain.
-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and start assembling your chicken.
-Place 2 slices of cheese on top of each chicken breast and top with 1 tomato slice.
-Salt and pepper your tomato slices and top each with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
-Top each tomato slice with 1 or 2 fried zucchini discs and then top with additional Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
-Add the remainder of the canned tomatoes evenly over the breasts, and top each with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
-Bake in your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is nicely browned and bubbly.
Sadly, I don't have any final "beauty shots" of this completed dish. The only reason I can think why I don't (I made this a month or more ago), is that we I was too anxious to sit down at the table and dig in! Anyway, you get the idea! I'm certainly not a professional blogger, recipe writer or chef. I blog for the enjoyment and fun of it and that maybe someday my kids will have mom's virtual cookbook to refer to. HA! A girl can dream, right?
Until we eat again,
Labels: chicken, garden harvest, Italian food, main, panko crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Travel the world, zucchini
