Prosciutto & Mozzarella-Stuff Chicken Parm

Throughout my life, one of my favorite pastimes has been making all of my friends' mothers fall deeply in love with me, especially the Italian American ones. As soon as they grab my cheeks and give them a pinch, I know I'm golden. Julia, one of my best friends from college, invited me to her family's house down the Jersey shore one summer—and as soon as I met her mother, Cynthia, I felt immediately at home. Within seconds we were in the kitchen cooking; Cynthia and Julia taught me how to make their family's prosciutto and mozzarella-stuffed chicken, which they had been making together since Julia was old enough to cook. I had never had such delicious cutlets, perfectly crispy on the outside with salty bites of prosciutto keeping the chicken moist and molten mozz oozing out from the inside. They're great on their own, so feel free to stop there, but when you add marinara and use them as the foundation for chicken parm... the classic rises to a new level.

Good

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

1. Line a rimmed sheet pan with foil and fit a wire rack on top of it.

Step 2

2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper. Lay two slices of mozzarella on top of each breast, then drape a slice of prosciutto over the mozz. Press the prosciutto onto the edge of the chicken breast to adhere.

Step 3

3. Set up your dredging station. Place the flour in a shallow bowl. In a second shallow bowl, beat the eggs with the mustard. In a third shallow bowl, combine the panko, ½ cup of the parmesan, the lemon zest, and a big pinch each of salt and pepper and use your hands to mix it all together. Line up the plates in this order, from left to right: flour, eggs, panko.

Step 4

4. Keeping one hand dry and letting the other get wet, add one cutlet to the flour, turning to coat and shaking off any excess. Dredge it in the egg mixture, letting any excess drip off. Then place the cutlet in the panko mixture, patting to adhere crumbs all over and letting any excess fall away. Place the coated cutlet on a plate or a second empty sheet pan and repeat with the remaining cutlets.

Step 5

5. In a large skillet, heat about ½ inch of oil over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes. (Sprinkle some panko in the oil. If it starts sizling immediately, your oil is ready to go.)

Step 6

6. Use tongs to carefully lower 1 or 2 cutlets into the oil. You want them to have plenty of room to express themselves, so don't pack them in. Cook, using the tongs to flip the cutlets and move them around in the oil, until deep golden brown and very crisp, 4 to 5 minutes per side. (There will be hot spots and you want these girls to tan evenly!) Transfer the fried cutlets to the wire rack. Repeat with the remaining cutlets, adding more oil to the skillet as needed.

Step 7

7. Turn the broiler to high.

Step 8

8. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of marinara over each cutlet on the wire rack. Top each one with about ¼ cup shredded mozzarella and cup Parmesan. Broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese is browned and bubbly. (Stay vigilant because they broil fast!)

Step 9

9. Serve each cutlet with a pile of spaghetti, a plate of garlic bread (if you like), and plenty more of the warm marinara.