Made this for Valentine’s Day dinner.
Ingredients:
2 large chicken breasts
1/2 cup almond flour
2 eggs
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups pork rind breadcrumbs (made by putting pork rinds in a food processor & pulsing until fine)
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
8oz fresh mozzarella cheese cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 box keto friendly pasta (I used chickpea pasta)
1 bag brazi bites cheese breads
1 jar marinara sauce
1. Split one chicken breast into two pieces by carefully slicing it lengthwise down one side. This will give you two pieces that are more even in thickness and should therefore cook more evenly.
2. Place one piece of chicken on the cutting board, cover it with a large piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper and pound it out a bit flatter. You can use a meat mallet, a rolling pin, a heavy pan…anything to help smash the chicken down into a larger flatter piece. Repeat with remaining chicken.
3. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper to taste. I used about a half tsp of salt per piece. Remember that the breading is made of salty pork rinds and cheese.
4. Make a breading station by putting the almond flour in a shallow dish or plate, scramble the 2 eggs and add to a second breading container, then in a 3rd container combine the panko, parm, and most of the chopped parsley (reserve a tsp to finish the dish).
5. Going one station at a time, dip the chicken into the flour then the eggs then the pork crumbs. Be sure to shake off the excess after each dish. When coating in the final dish with the breadcrumbs be sure to push down a bit to help the breading adhere. Move to a sheet pan and repeat with remaining chicken pieces. At this point these can sit like this for a bit. Ideally, pop it into the fridge for a few minutes while you complete the next few steps.
6. Bring a large skillet up to a medium/low heat. Add enough oil to just cover the bottom. About a half a cup. Be sure to use an oil with a decently high smoke point. I used grapeseed.
7. Add the marinara sauce to a small pot
and begin to heat it up on medium low without a lid. This will allow some water to evaporate and th sauce to thicken slightly. Stir occasionally.
8. Begin bringing a large pot of water to a boil. Season with a few tablespoons of salt until the water is salty.
9. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
10. Test the oil in the pan by adding a sprinkle of breadcrumbs to make sure it’s hot. It should sizzle some. If it sizzles wildly turn the temp down a bit and wait for it to cool down before adding the chicken. Set the chicken carefully into the pan away from you to avoid splashing yourself with oil. Cook, flipping every 2-3 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temp of 160 degrees. Move the chicken to a wire rack to drain and rest while you finish cooking all the pieces.
11. Put brazi bits on a baking tray and cook for 20 minutes
12. Add dried pasta to the boiling water and cook to package directions. When it’s done, drain off the water and return the noodles to the pot. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of marinara to the noodles and stir to combine.
13. On top of each cooked chicken breast piece add a spoonful of sauce down the middle and then add 2-3 slices of mozzarella onto that. Lightly season the cheese with salt and pepper.
Put chicken into the oven for 10 minutes (last 10 minutes of the brazi bites would be ideal.)
14. Once the cheese is melted, if desired, turn the broiler onto high to lightly brown the cheese. This can happen very quickly in some ovens. So, be sure to check on it every 30 seconds to a minute to make sure it doesn’t over brown.
15. To serve, smear a spoonful of sauce onto a plate and add a chicken piece on top of it. Using tongs, grab some pasta and twirl it a bit as you’re adding it to the plate to help it nest up. Add a spoonful of sauce to the top of the pasta. Add some brazi bites, sprinkle the plate with reserved minced parsley and parmesan. Enjoy.
Suggested substitutions:
– any kind of pasta can be used. Cooked spaghetti squash, or zucchini noodles at a good option.
– in place of fresh mozzarella you can use low moisture mozzarella. Or a mix of mozzarella and fontina.
by Pyroccd