Chicken Parmesan with Fresh Tomato Relish

I'm a fan of chicken Parmesan...mostly. Though what I'm not a fan of is the chicken being smothered in marinara sauce. I like marinara sauce, don't get me wrong. And I believe it has its place with chicken Parmesan, but it really shouldn't be so "in your face". In my opinion.

I think I've found the answer to my prayers.  Chicken Parmesan with Fresh Tomato relish. Can I get a YUM!?

Yes, that's my actual plate tonight for dinner.  And yes I take the time to make it pretty because we eat with our eyes first...or so I'm told.

Anyhow, what I really like about this recipe is the fresh tomato relish.  It adds a tomato flavor without an over powering marinara flavor.

The side dish is a simple pesto. I had some basil I had to use up and the recipe notes suggested serving it with a pasta with pesto...so I did.  That's way too much pesto though. I'm really a couple of bites of pesto and I'm done kinda girl.  Still, it added a nice freshness to the overall meal.

So, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Chicken Parmesan with Fresh Tomato Relish
Serves: 8 (Obviously I made a smaller portion of this for me and a left over)

• 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and pounded 1/4 inch thick
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 T Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
• 2 T chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 T minced capers (you may notice in the picture that I substituted green olives for capers)
• 1 T red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp tomato paste (I completely forgot to add this to the relish - can't say I missed it)

Preheat oven to 450F.

Combine panko and Parmesan. Place panko mixture, flour and eggs separately in three shallow dishes. Cut each chicken breast in half; season with salt and pepper. Dredge cutlets in flour, egg, and panko mixture. Set aside and let them rest for 5-10 minutes (the resting allows the breading to secure itself to the meat. That way when you fry it you won't lose your breading).

Heat 2 T oil in large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sauté chicken, turning once, until golden, 2-3 minutes per side. Remove cutlets to a baking sheet; top each with 1 T mozzarella. Cook cutlets until cheese melts and chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Combine tomatoes, basil, capers, vinegar, tomato paste and the remaining 1 T olive oil for relish in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve chicken over pesto pasta, top chicken with relish!

You won't be disappointed. I promise you.

My plan for the remaining cutlet, BTW, is to make a sandwich with it and the remaining tomato relish tomorrow.  Nice hunk of good Italian bread....oh man...I'm hungry just thanking about it.