Chicken Parmesan Sandwich
Crispy chicken, homemade tomato sauce, melted mozzarella, and garlicky pesto mayo... You have to try this one.
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients
- Drizzle olive oil
- 1 medium red onion finely chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- Handful of fresh basil stalks and leaves separated (don’t throw away the stalks!)
- 1 heaped tbsp fresh pesto
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 chicken breasts
- 80 g plain flour
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 120 g panko breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 125 g mozzarella ball drained and sliced
- 100 g Parmesan grated
- 2 brioche buns halved
Instructions
- Heat a generous drizzle of olive oil to a medium-sized non-stick saucepan placed over a medium heat and add the onion. Season well and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add the chopped tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and basil stalks. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and cook for about 15 minutes - or until reduced. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Meanwhile, prepare the chicken: butterfly each breast, then cover with a clingfilm and bash with a rolling pin to flatten out.
- Place the flour, beaten eggs and panko breadcrumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls. Season the flour with salt and pepper.
- For the next step, I recommend that you keep one hand for the dry coatings (flour and breadcrumbs) and one hand for the wet (beaten egg).
- Place the chicken in the flour and turn to coat. Then place in the beaten egg and coat on both sides. Finally, place in the breadcrumbs and gently press all over to ensure the breadcrumbs stick to it. Repeat with the second chicken breast.
- Preheat the grill to 200°C.
- Heat a generous drizzle of vegetable oil in a medium-sized non-stick frying pan and fry the chicken breasts for about 5 minutes on each side - or until golden and cooked through (make sure to check there is no pink/red in the centre).
- Place the chicken breasts onto a baking sheet, top with a spoonful of tomato sauce, a few slices of mozzarella and some grated Parmesan.
- Pop it under the grill for a couple of minutes - or until the mozzarella is melted, gooey and gorgeous.
- Meanwhile, mix the fresh pesto with the mayonnaise and toast the brioche buns.
- To assemble, spread a spoonful of tomato sauce over the bottom of each toasted bun. Top with the chicken and a few basil leaves. Add a tbsp of the pesto mayonnaise on the top. Top with the remaining half of the bun and enjoy!
Notes
Scroll up for a step by step guide on how to make this sandwich.
To store: If you anticipate leftovers, don't assemble the sandwiches or stack the chicken with sauce and mozzarella. Keep all the components separate. Leftover chicken can be kept in an airtight container and placed in the fridge for up to 2 days. Leftover pesto mayo and tomato sauce last 4 days in airtight containers.
To reheat: Leftover chicken can be reheated in the airfryer at 180c for 5-10 minutes until piping hot all the way through. The time will depend on size and thickness of your chicken. Otherwise in the oven at 180c for closer to 10-15 minutes. You may need to cover in foil to stop the mozzarella on top burning (ideally you won't have put the mozzarella on yet but in case you have). Tomato sauce can be reheated in the microwave for 1-2 mins or on the stove in a saucepan over medium heat, until bubbling and hot.
To freeze: You can freeze tomato sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 months. You can also freeze the chicken. Bread and fry according to the recipe and then cool. Transfer to an airtight container, with greaseproof paper between each layer to avoid sticking together. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Then reheat at 180c in the oven for 20 minutes, air fryer for 10-15 minutes.
Make ahead: You can make the tomato sauce ahead of time, up to 4 days in advance and store in the fridge. The chicken is best freshly fried but you can bread the chicken a day ahead and keep well covered in the fridge. Remove from the fridge 20-30 minutes before frying. You can also mix the pesto mayo a day in advance in an airtight container in the fridge.
Tomato sauce: This recipe will make excess tomato sauce, but it freezes beautifully and is delicious tossed through pasta for an easy weeknight supper. You could use a shop-bought jarred sauce - just choose one with a high percentage of tomatoes and little sugar. They taste the best.
Baking instead of frying: it will take slightly longer. First, fry your panko breadcrumbs in a little oil until crisp and golden, then leave to cool (don’t skip this step or else they won’t be as crispy). Continue with the pané (flour, egg, breadcrumbs) as in the recipe, then bake at 200C Fan for 10-12 minutes until starting to crisp before turning over and cooking for a further 10 minutes - or until the chicken is golden, crispy and cooked through.
Serve immediately: you will want to serve this sandwich immediately so that the sauce doesn't sog the bread completely. See the tips below if you want to get ahead in other ways.