CHICKEN PARMESAN

To prepare the Pomodoro Sauce, place a large pot on stove and heat over medium. Once hot, add chicken skin and reduce heat to medium low. Cook the skin on one side until it is golden brown and has released from pan. Remove and set aside on cooling tray. Add minced onion and garlic to pot with chicken fat. Add olive oil, salt and pepper and cook for about 20 minutes. Stir often so onions do not begin to color. When onions are translucent, add canned tomatoes, Mozzarella liquid, Parmesan rind and reserved chicken skin. Increase heat to medium high and stir until mixture begins to bubble. Then cook and stir constantly for 20 minutes. If sauce bubbles and spits too much, take it off the heat for a minute and turn the burner down to medium, then place pot back on heat. After 20 minutes, remove pot from heat and let rest for 2 minutes. Remove the parmesan rind using a slotted spoon. Add half of sauce to pitcher of a blender along with half of basil. Pulse six to eight times; do not blend constantly. After the last pulse, turn blender on low for 10 seconds, then on high for one minute. Transfer sauce to a bowl and repeat this step with remaining sauce and basil.

To prepare the Chicken Parmesan, preheat oven to 325°F. Cover chicken breast with plastic wrap on a thick cutting board; flatten evenly with a meat hammer until 1/2-inch thick. Remove plastic and season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Create a breading station by placing flour, eggs and panko in three separate shallow bowls. Coat both sides of chicken first in flour, then in egg and last in panko. Add rice bran oil to large sauté pan and heat over medium. Once oil is hot, lay chicken carefully in oil and reduce heat to medium-low; cook for two minutes. Flip once chicken has turned golden brown and cook for two minutes on second side. Transfer chicken to a small sheet pan with a cooling rack or parchment paper. Let cool for two minutes. Using a microplane grater, shave Parmesan cheese on top of chicken. Pour Pomodoro Sauce over chicken. Place four Mozzarella slices over top of sauce in four equal quadrants. Cook for five minutes. Check temperature through center and remove once it is 165°F. Once cooked through, remove from oven and let rest for two minutes.

To serve, cut Chicken Parmesan into four equal pieces along quadrants. Top each piece with a basil leaf.

PER ORDER: Makes 1 serving

Recipe courtesy of Jay Abrams, Local Kitchen, San Francisco, Calif.