Aussie Chicken Parm

Ingredients:

Sauce:

• 400g can diced tomatoes
• 70g tomato paste
• 1 ½ tsp basil
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp parsley
• ½ tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

Chicken:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 60g all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ Tbsp mayonnaise
• 190g bread crumbs
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp parsley
• ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 6 Tbsp olive oil
• 8 slices ham
• 8 slices flavorful cheese (Marsdammer, Jarlsberg, or similar)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 225°C.
2. Combine sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, puree with an immersion blender. Set aside.
3. Place chicken breasts, spread apart, between two layers of clingwrap. Using a meat hammer pound the chicken breasts to 1/2cm thick.
4. Prepare your dipping station. Place flour in a large, shallow dish and set one side of your worksurface. Combine egg and mayonnaise in another large, shallow dish. Beat with a fork until light and creamy. Place next to the dish of flour. In a third large, shallow bowl combine breadcrumbs, paprika, salt, parsley & pepper, mix to combine well. Set on the other side of the egg dish.
5. Preheat a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. If you have two large skillets, use both of them to save time.
6. Prepare a chicken breast for frying: coat both sides of the chicken in the flour. Then dip chicken in the egg mixture, making sure you cover the entire breast. Then coat the chicken in the bread crumbs, pressing down to make sure they crumbs all stick well.
7. Drizzle 1 ½ Tbsp oil into the heated skillet. Allow it to heat for a minute, then place the coated chicken breast in the skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes until underside is golden, then carefully flip using a large spatula. Continue cooking 2-3 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from pan, set aside on a large (warmed) baking tray. (A prewarmed tray will prevent the bottom from going soggy).
8. Repeat steps 6&7 for remaining chicken breasts.
9. When all the chicken is cooked, place them all on the large baking tray. Spread the cooked tomato sauce evenly over the 4 pieces of chicken. Then top each with 2 slices of ham and 2 slices of cheese.
10. Place the tray in the oven and bake for about 3-4 minutes until the cheese is melted and browning. Alternately, you can place it under the broiler for a minute, keeping an eye that it doesn’t brown too quickly.
11. Serve immediately with fries and a green salad.

1. The homemade sauce can be replaced with a jar of ready-made pasta sauce. Just be sure to use one with added herbs & spices, otherwise it will be too bland for words. 
2. If you want the authentic Aussie experience with fried egg, fry the egg sunny-side-up while the parms are in the oven. Top parms with fried egg just before serving.