Chicken Parmigiana with Angela's Salsa

Our five-week fall visit to Penna San Giovanni this year was full of new and well-known experiences. It is always a joy to reconnect with our friends there; the extended stay meant we felt more connected to the town, and for me, it was the first time picking olives. I'll tell the full story of the raccolta olive rin another post. This one is about cooking.

When we arrived, my wonderful friend Angela greeted us with a carton full of the fruits of her garden and her labor. She is an amazing home chef and gardener, in addition to being one of the most generous people I have the privilege to know, and this box contained onions, a giant butternut squash, zucchini, eggs from her hens, two kinds of homemade jam, a jar of passata di pomodoro, which is fresh tomatoes run through the food mill, and one of salsa, which is that passata spiced up with garlic, basil, salt and pepper. This was like getting the variety box from one of those organic food delivery programs, where you open it up and figure out all the wonderful things you can cook for the next week.

I used Angela's outstanding salsa to make the chicken parmigiana recipe below. Easy, fast and delicious. Of course, you won't have Angela's salsa, so choose the brand of tomato sauce that you like best. I recommend splurging a bit on a high quality sauce that will really make this dish rock.

1 lb. thinly sliced chicken breast

1/2 c. bread crumbs

1/3 c. olive oil

3/4 lb. fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley

1 22 oz. jar of good quality tomato sauce

fresh ground black pepper

1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese, or grana padana

Preheat oven to 375 F. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl, season with fresh ground pepper, and dredge chicken slices through the crumbs, pressing gently to adhere. Set aside on a plate.

Pour about 1/4 c. olive oil into a large non-stick skillet. With heat on high, saute the breaded chicken slices until golden, about 4 minutes per side. Saute in batches if all the slices do not fit in the pan. Add more oil if needed. Set aside.

Oil a shallow baking dish, approximately 12 x 14", or whatever size will hold the chicken slices in one layer. Smear a thin layer of the tomato sauce in the bottom. Arrange the chicken slices, overlapping slightly if needed.

Arrange the mozzarella slices over the chicken and sprinkle on the chopped parsley.

Spoon a generous layer of tomato sauce over the mozzarella. Sprinkle with the grated parmesan cheese.

Bake in the oven for about 30-35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese melted.

To make the grilled radicchio above, find a really good, fresh head of radicchio. In the States, it seems we only come across the round heads. In italy there are many varieties-- round, oval, and these really adorable curly ones. Wash the radicchio and remove any damaged outer leaves. Slice lengthwise into one inch slices. Heat a non-stick pan to high, add a generous glug of olive oil and grill the radicchio slices with a couple sliced garlic cloves until the radicchio starts to turn golden, a few minutes on each side. Season with salt and pepper. The bitterness will be reduced by half and the flavor is bracing.