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Champion Chicken Parmesan loaded with flavor

Lorie Hutson Food editor

This is one of the classic Cooking Light recipes that has become a favorite at my house.

It is also one of the more than 500 recipes in the new “The Best of Cooking Light” collection. The handsome, thick-paged book will make a nice addition to your cookbook collection if you’re a Cooking Light fan or if you’re looking for tasty ways to cut back fat and calories without compromising innovation and flavor.

Champion Chicken Parmesan

Try Asiago or provolone cheese in place of the mozzarella. From “The Best of Cooking Light.”

For the tomato sauce:

1 ounce sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil (about 1/4 cup)

1 cup boiling water

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 cups chopped red bell pepper

1 cup chopped onion

2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

For the chicken:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

4 (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon olive oil

Cooking spray

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

3 cups hot cooked linguine (about 6 ounces uncooked pasta)

To prepare tomato sauce, combine sun-dried tomatoes and water in a bowl; cover and let stand 30 minutes or until soft. Drain and finely chop tomatoes.

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sun-dried tomatoes, bell pepper, and onion; sauté 7 minutes. Stir in canned tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in parsley, basil, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and garlic.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare chicken, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, Parmesan and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a shallow dish. Place each breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; flatten to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Dip each breast half in egg white; dredge in flour mixture. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 minutes on each side or until golden. Arrange in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour the tomato sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Serve over linguine.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half, 1 cup sauce, 1/4 cup cheese, and 3/4 cup pasta)

Approximate nutrition per serving: 559 calories, 15.9 grams fat (5.6 grams saturated, 26 percent fat calories), 46.3 grams protein, 58.1 grams carbohydrate, 93 milligrams cholesterol, 6.4 grams dietary fiber, 792 milligrams sodium.