This was the answer to The Latin Lover’s inquiry, “What are you planning for dinner?”  This sort of just popped into my head.  It went together quickly and had great flavor. One of the things I’ve never been too keen on with a more “traditional” parm, is the coating.  I find it to be too much, too heavy and obscures the chicken.  So, I combine panko crumbs, parmesan and olive oil, then I just sprinkle the mixture evenly over each half of the partially roasted breasts, that have been napped with sauce.  You just want the crumbs to brown and crisp up and the chicken to finish cooking.  So as you can see, we’ve “twisted” things a bit.  In this version, we’re stuffing the breasts with ham and cheese, and adding capers and mushrooms to the sauce, thus further “twisting” the Parm further.  All these options tend to make this a lighter, simpler version.  To serve, I slice the breasts into 1/2-inch thick slices and place them over the pasta.

Open the breasts like a book.  Season with kosher salt and pepper.  Place a slice of ham one half of each “opened” breast.  Sprinkle half of the dry herbs and shredded cheese over the ham.  Now, flop the second side over the ham, closing like a book.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat; I use cast iron.  Add olive oil; brown each stuffed breast half on both sides.  You’ll probably need to add a couple of tablespoons of oil to the skillet, then toss the mushrooms into the skillet.  Sauté for 1-2 minutes.  Pour the wine around the edge of the skillet, not over the chicken.  Place the browned breasts on top of the mushrooms; squeeze half of the lemon over the breasts.  Spoon the pasta sauce over the chicken breasts.  Place the skillet in the oven.  Roast for 10 minutes.  While the chicken roasts, combine the panko, parmesan and olive oil in a small bowl; set aside.  Remove the pan from the oven; sprinkle the panko mixture evenly over the breasts (sorry, but I didn’t get pictures of that!).  Return the pan to the oven and continue to roast for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 170°F and the crumb mixture is browned.  Remove the cooked breasts to a platter, cover loosely and let stand.  Place the skillet on the burner, set to medium. Add the capers, garlic and tomato paste.  Squeeze in the remaining lemon half.  Stir to combine; simmer for a couple of minutes until the mixture thickens; you may need to add some extra pasta sauce.  I under-cook the pasta because I like to throw it into the sauce and simmer the whole thing together for 1-2 minutes.  Pile pasta on each plate, sprinkle with good, grated parm and top with 2 or 3 slices of the chicken parm.  Serve immediately.  I usually serve some good bread on the side.  You wants to mop that sauce up, right?

I serve with roasted green beans or a combination of broccoli and cauliflower, which I usually sprinkle some bleu cheese over.

Even the leftovers were good!

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