I’m making it tonight for my gf. I’ve never made it before, nor eaten it (I’m a veggie). What would it typically be accompanied by? Pasta? Rice? Spuds?
Suggestions pleeyas.
Pasta of some sort, usually spaghetti or linguine with tomato sauce.
I have always had pasta with it.
Thanks for speedy replies folks, I had presumed that was the case but just checking. Anyone wanna share any fancy recipes for Chicken Parmesan? I’ve found a few online so get the gist of what I’m supposed to be making.
Pasta, DEFINITELY. I think all recipes basically come out the same way, but you can never go wrong with a touch of red wine in the sauce, and lotsa mushrooms. And broccoli with garlic butter. Fresh Italian bread. (dang, I must be getting hungry here…)
I’d leave out the mushrooms and serve a nice green salad on the side, but otherwise yeah.
You’re making me hungry and I have to go to the supermarket. Bad idea!
Garlic bread and a side salad, too.
Hell, if you’re a veggie I’d pick up an eggplant and make eggplant parma too. Personally, I’d rather have eggplant parmigiana over chicken everytime, it’s my favorite.
But yea, spaghetti and marinara is the typical accompaniement where I’m from.
My recipe books and trips to various good Italian restaurants indicate that you’d never mix your “meat” dish with the “pasta”. Instead you’d get two “main courses” following each other.
For a pretty filling dish like this, I’d probably go for a light pasta with just some tomato sauce with a bit of parmezan and basil / parsley.
Eggplant parm is one of my default Italian joint choices…
When its good, it is one of my all time favorites. Of course, like most things it varies widely from place to place.
Dunno about “fancy recipe”, but the one I make involves:
Pound chicken breasts flat under waxed paper
Coat in flour, salt & pepper mixture (I add a bit of cayenne pepper for an extra kick)
Dip in beaten egg mixture
Coat with breadcrumb & parmesan cheese mixture (I usually go pretty heavy on the cheese)
Pan-Fry in olive oil over medium heat along with some minced garlic.
When cooked through and crispy, remove from pan, place on baking sheet, coat with mozzarella, and broil in oven (top rack) until cheese turns brown. Remove from oven, cover with tomato sauce.
Chicken or Pork Chops Parmesan
4 chicken breasts, pounded thin - or -
6 boneless “breakfast” pork chops
salt and pepper
vegetable oil, for frying
1/2 26 oz jar marinara
1 c flour, for dredging
2 eggs, beaten
1 c panko bread crumbs (found in ethnic aisle - Japanese)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
2/3 c shredded mozzarella
1/4 c grated parmesan
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Salt and pepper the meat to taste. Pour oil in skillet to about 1/4 inch deep. Heat to medium high. Also, warm the marinara in a small pot but do not boil.
Put flour in one bowl, beaten eggs in a second bowl, and panko, oregano, and basil mixed together in a third bowl.
Dredge the meat in flour, then dip in egg, then dredge in panko bread crumbs. Press down to coat well, then shake off excess. Fry in skillet until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.
Place half of the warm marinara in a baking dish. Put meat on top in a single layer, then cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan over all.
Bake for 20 minutes until bubbly and beginning to brown.
I’ll be a dittohead here: garlic bread OR a pasta side, but not both. Or crostini. I’ve always had it with pasta/marinara.
I’ve found this to be true as well. Chain-type italian restaurants will usually serve the chicken parm on a bed of linguini or penne or something. Authentic italian restaurants will usually give you a huge chicken cutlet (or a couple pieces of eggplant) on it’s own plate, and a handful of pasta on the side, lightly sauced.
I like mine with angel hair pasta and chunky marinara.
Another vote for
- pasta or garlic bread (a separate plate for the pasta seems unnecessarily fussy to me)
- green salad
- eggplant over chicken any day (although getting the eggplant to come out just right can be tricky).
Tips:
Use Angel Hair pasta, it gives the sense of lightness, and takes less time to prepare.
Be sure to use fresh parmesan and grate some into a bowl on the table.
Grate fresh parmesan onto the finished chicken and brown it lightly under the broiler just before serving. Watch it carefully, it is low in moisture so browns suddenly and without much warning.
I like green beans on the side, they just seems to bring a “freshness” to the plate.
Then I guess it must be a HUGE breach of etiquette to cut up the chicken parm and combine it into the pasta so that you can get a piece of chicken with nearly every forkful of spaghetti In my city, there used to be a good independent Italian restaurant that I regularly patronized and I always liked to do that with their Chicken Parmesan. I don’t recall getting any disapproving glances about doing that though.
I personally wouldn’t do that, because I figure that in a restaurant, food that should be combined should already be on the same plate, but hey, it’s your food 
By the way, I didn’t mean there aren’t pasta dishes that include meat - there are plenty - but substantial meat cuts like veal in Gorgonzola sauce are served by themselves with maybe little vegetables to go with it.
I like pretty much all Italian food, but the one thing that always strikes me is that so many of the dishes are very simple - only a hand full of ingredients - and it tastes delicious.
First time I went to a traditional Italian restaurant with an Italian-Swiss friend of mine was an eye opener. He didn’t order just a starter and a main course, but something like five dishes excluding dessert. With some time in between to get in some more drinks and smoke and talk. We were there, eating for hours and hours. That is probably my favorite way of eating out.