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chicken parmesan with spaghetti & pesto
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Chicken Parmesan With Spaghetti & Pesto

A classic chicken parmesan served with tomato spaghetti & a punchy basil pesto. With crispy chicken, a flavourful marinara sauce & melty cheese, this one's a real winner.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 45 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American, Italian
Servings: 4 People
Author: Ben Racey

Equipment

  • Small Frying Pan
  • Digital Food Probe
  • Mixing Bowls
  • Meat Tenderising Hammer
  • Saucepans
  • Microplane
  • Blender (See Notes)
  • Large Frying Pan
  • Roasting Tin With Rack

Ingredients

Basil Pesto

  • 30 g Pine Nuts
  • 100 g Fresh Basil (See Notes)
  • 30 g Parmesan (Grated)
  • 1 Garlic Clove (Grated)
  • 90 g Olive Oil
  • 1½ tbsp Lemon Juice

Breaded Chicken

  • 2 Chicken Breasts (Boneless & Skinless)
  • 100 g Plain Flour
  • 4 Large Eggs
  • 1 tbsp Milk
  • 150 g Panko Breadcrumbs
  • 15 g Parmesan

Marinara Sauce

  • 2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 2 White Onions (Peeled & Diced)
  • 6 Garlic Cloves (Peeled & Thinly Sliced)
  • 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 800 g Tinned Tomatoes (2 Tins - See Notes)
  • 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • 2 tsp Caster Sugar
  • 1 tsp Dried Oregano

To Serve

  • 300 g Low Moisture Mozzarella (Sliced)
  • Parmesan
  • 300 g Spaghetti
  • Olive Oil

Instructions

Basil Pesto

  • Place the pine nuts into a small frying pan then cook over a medium heat until golden brown, shaking the pan regularly. This will take 3-4 minutes. Once toasted, transfer the pine nuts to a bowl & leave to cool.
  • Next, pick the basil leaves from the stalks. Put the leaves into a blender & set the stalks to one side (we'll use these for the tomato sauce).
    You can use a food processor or small blender for the pesto!
  • Add the toasted pine nuts into the blender, along with the grated parmesan, garlic, olive oil & lemon juice. Blend into a smooth sauce then season to taste with salt & pepper. Store the pesto in the fridge until needed.
    If the pesto is too thick, thin it out with extra oil or a splash of cold water.

Breaded Chicken

  • Using a sharp knife, cut each chicken breast in half, horizontally.
    Cut the chicken like you're going to butterfly it but cut all the way through!
  • Place a piece of chicken between two pieces of baking parchment then pound with a meat tendering hammer (or a rolling pin) to a thickness of around 1 cm. Repeat this process with the remaining chicken.
  • Next, prepare the pané station. To do this, take 3 bowls, fill one with the flour, one with the eggs & milk and another with the breadcrumbs & grated parmesan. Beat the eggs with a fork then season each bowl with salt & pepper.
  • Toss a piece of chicken in the flour then dunk in the egg. Lift the chicken out of the egg, letting the excess drain off then place into the bowl of breadcrumbs. Thoroughly coat the chicken with the breadcrumbs then coat in another layer of egg, followed by breadcrumbs (this is a double pané).
  • Place the breaded chicken onto a tray/plate, repeat with the remaining chicken then chill in the fridge until needed.

Marinara Sauce

  • Add the olive oil into a large saucepan then set over a medium heat. Leave to heat up for a minute or so then add in the diced onion & a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring regularly until soft & translucent. This will take 5-10 minutes.
  • Add the sliced garlic into the onions cook for another minute then stir in the tomato paste. Cook, stirring frequently, for another 3-4 minutes, to caramelise the tomato paste.
  • Next, add the tinned tomatoes into the pan, along with the vinegar, sugar, dried oregano & the reserved basil stalks. Rinse the empty tomato tins out with water then add this into the sauce as well.
    Fill each tin no more than a third full with water.
  • Season the sauce with salt & pepper then turn the heat down slightly & simmer gently until thick, stirring occasionally. This will take around 20-30 minutes.
  • Once cooked, blend the sauce in a jug blender until smooth then taste, to check the seasoning. Add more salt & pepper as needed then set to one side.
    A stick blender will also work! If the sauce tastes slightly bitter, stir in a splash more vinegar or a small amount of caster sugar. I like to blitz the basil stalks into the sauce but feel free to take them out if you'd prefer.

Cooking The Chicken

  • Preheat an oven to 220°c/200°c fan (428°f/392°f).
  • Next, set a large frying pan over a medium-high heat then add in a 1½ cm layer of vegetable oil. Leave to heat up for a minute or two, until hot.
    The oil should be hot enough to make the chicken sizzle as soon as it is added in. It shouldn't be smoking though!
  • Once the oil is hot, fry the chicken in batches for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown then place onto a rack set inside a roasting tin.
    Make sure not to over crowd the pan! I'd recommend frying the chicken 2 at a time.
  • Next, add 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce on top of each piece of chicken then top with the sliced mozzarella & a sprinkle of grated parmesan. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through & the cheese is melty.
    The internal temperature of the chicken should be 75°c/167°f once cooked.
  • Once cooked, let the chicken rest for a couple of minutes then serve.

To Serve

  • Whilst your chicken is in the oven, cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water, until al dente. This will take around 10 minutes. Once cooked, drain the spaghetti but reserve some of the pasta water.
  • Set the pan back over a low heat then add in the remaining tomato sauce & a good splash of the pasta water. Stir to coat the pasta in sauce, adding more pasta water if the sauce is too thick. Let the sauce warm through for a couple of minutes before serving.
  • To plate up, divide the spaghetti between 4 plates then top each portion with a piece of chicken. Drizzle over a generous amount of pesto then finish with a sprinkle of grated parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil & a few cracks of black pepper.

Notes

1. To Cook In An Aga - Cook the marinara sauce & toast the pine nuts on the simmering plate. Fry the chicken on the boiling plate then cook in the roasting oven, on the second from top set of runners. Cook the spaghetti on the boiling plate.
2. Chicken - You'll need two large chicken breasts for the breaded chicken. It's best to use a meat tenderising hammer (or something heavy) to flatten them into an even thickness, so that they cook evenly.
3. Basil - For this recipe, you'll need a 100 gram bunch of basil. You'll roughly get 60 grams of leaves from this, which we're using for the pesto. The stalks are used for the tomato sauce.
4. Marinara Sauce - Feel free to use a ready made marinara sauce if you'd prefer! 
5. Tomatoes - Good quality tinned tomatoes works best for the tomato sauce - you'll need 2x 400 gram tins. Chopped tomatoes work best for you could use plum tomatoes then crush them in the pan (with a spoon).
6. Panko Breadcrumbs - For the crispiest chicken coating, panko breadcrumbs work best. These are available in most supermarkets but regular breadcrumbs will work as well.
7. Mozzarella - Low moisture mozzarella has the best, melty finish once baked. This is available to buy in blocks, from most supermarkets.
8. Making In Advance - The tomato sauce & pesto can be made up to 3 days in advance & stored in the fridge. The chicken can be breaded up to a day in advance & needs to be stored in the fridge.
9. Blender - You'll need a blender to blitz up the tomato sauce & the pesto. I used a Nutribullet but a jug blender, food processor or stick blender will work.