Sunday Recipe: Healthier Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan is a weakness of mine — one of those unfortunate weaknesses that makes my ass look big. So I was thrilled to find a healthy-ish version of this usually deadly recipe in the cookbook Ben got me for Christmas, The Best of Cooking Light.

The book is really great about making “normal” dishes a bit better for you rather than just having really weirdo stuff that involves a lot of bean curd and twigs and things — and they list all the nutritional information after each dish. It’s fancy without requiring special skills or ingredients and it has pictures for most of the recipes — and I get to make a few new, awesome things every week from it. You can buy it here

Below is what I made last night, which involves Cooking Light’s ingenious recipe (with a few of my little changes).

The chicken:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup flour
• 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons olive oil (I needed a bit more than that)

The tomato sauce and noodles

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 1 big can of stewed whole plum tomatoes
• some oregano and parsley and black pepper
• lots of fresh basil
• 10 ounces dried spaghetti (we use whole wheat)
• 1 cup fresh shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (the fresh part makes a big difference

1. Place each chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap and flatted to 1/4-inch thickness with a meat mallet or rolling pin (we use a whiskey bottle).

2. Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and pepper in a dish. Dredge each breast in flour, then dip them in the egg whites, then the bread crumbs.

3. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook 3 minutes on each side (or until done).

4. For the sauce, heat the oil and garlic in a large saucepan. add the onions and cook until clear, about five minutes. Add everything else (except the basil), bring to a boil, and then let simmer while you prepare the chicken and cook the pasta. Right before you’re done, take the sauce off the heat and add the fresh basil.

5. Cook the spaghetti and place it in the bottom of a 9 X 7 inch glass baking dish (or similar). Pour half of the sauce over the spaghetti. Place the chicken breasts on top of that, and then cover the breasts with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Broil for about three minutes, or until the cheese melts.

We served ours with whole-wheat garlic bread and green beans.