Chicken Parmigiana

The failure mode is a soggy middle layer. You avoid it by keeping the sauce off the crust everywhere except a stripe down the centre, and by finishing under a hot grill for minutes rather than baking it for half an hour.

1. 1

   Bat the chicken pieces out between two sheets of baking paper until an even 1 cm thick.

   For this step

   • 2 (600 g) chicken breasts
2. 2

   Simmer the passata with the garlic and a splash of olive oil for 15 minutes until thick enough to hold a line drawn through it.

   For this step

   • 1½ cups (400 g) passata
   • 3 cloves garlic
   • ⅓ cup olive oil
3. 3

   Set up flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs mixed with the parmesan in three trays, and coat each piece of chicken in that order, pressing the crumbs on firmly.

   For this step

   • 2 (600 g) chicken breasts
   • ½ cup (63 g) plain flour
   • 1½ cups (160 g) dried breadcrumbs
   • ½ cup (40 g) parmesan
4. 4

   Fry in olive oil over medium high for 3 minutes a side until deep golden. Drain on a rack, never on paper, so the underside stays crisp.

   For this step

   • ⅓ cup olive oil
5. 5

   Sit the chicken in a baking dish, spoon a stripe of sauce down the middle of each piece and pile the mozzarella on top of that stripe.

   For this step

   • 2 (600 g) chicken breasts
   • 200 g mozzarella
6. 6

   Grill on high for 5 minutes until the cheese blisters, then scatter with basil and serve at once.

   For this step

   • 1 handful basil leaves

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