Eight years ago, I married into an Italian family. And thus began my introduction into all things pasta, fine cheeses, herbs and of course, local chicken: like the kind today’s sponsor, Foster Farms, offers. Italian has always been one of my most favorite cuisines, but I didn’t learn the true art of Italian cooking until watching my father-in-law in the kitchen. Although Parmesan Crusted Caprese Chicken isn’t one of his personal recipes, it is one inspired by many of his cooking techniques. Add it to your menu this coming week, like now, go ahead and write it down for say, Tuesday’s Tour of Italy! I promise it won’t disappoint!
Some of these ingredients you’ll have on hand. At least for me, they’re pantry and refrigerator staples. Others, you might need to pick up. I grabbed fresh, locally grown Foster Farms Simply Raised chicken during my weekly grocery shopping trip and made my way to the farm stand down the street for basil and a plump tomato. It’s always my preference to use local food in my cooking … it just makes sense! Local options are always more fresh and support my local economy; a total win win for all involved. I mean, did you know that Foster Farms products are delivered fresh from local ranches within 48 hours? It’s true! Plus, for us Pacific Northwest gals, 32 family farmers in Washington and Oregon are the source of our fresh poultry from the Fresh & Natural and Simply Raised without Antibiotics line. All Foster Farms fresh chicken products are American Humane Certified.
Ingredients
- 1 package Foster Farms Simply Raised without Antibiotics chicken breast fillets
- 1 bunch of basil
- 1 tomato
- Olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup finely grated Parmesan
- 2/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 1 and a 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
Directions
To begin, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then, heat olive oil in a large cast iron or skillet on the stove. On another note of preparation butter a 9×13 baking dish and slice your tomato into circles. Basil can be left in large pieces or, if you’re like me and prefer more of a minced basil, use a food processor and a drizzle of olive oil to make a smooth basil paste.
The first true step in cooking this dish is to pan fry your chicken. In a bowl, whisk the egg. On a plate, mix the Parmesan and bread crumbs. Dredge a chicken fillet in the egg and coat in the Parmesan bread crumb mixture. Fry for 2 minutes on the first side and an additional minute on the second side. Complete this process for each chicken fillet and place into your 9×13 buttered dish. Once pan fried, your chicken should be crispy on the outside, but not fully cooked.
On top of each pan fried chicken fillet add a smear of basil paste, a tomato slice and a hefty sprinkle of mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 10-12 minutes in the oven and serve alongside a small salad and garlic bread.
This post is sponsored by Foster Farms®, the opinions expressed are my own.