Chicken and Waffles

Servings: 4 sandwiches

Chicken & Waffles

I recently had the opportunity to taste a southern classic, chicken and waffles. I thought it was good but it was on the heavy side with the deep fried chicken breasts. I decided to lighten it up by baking the chicken and dialed up the flavor with some grated Italian cheese and garlic butter. Just imagine a crispy waffle covered with garlic butter nestling crispy parmesan chicken and sweet roasted red peppers

Waffles *

8 4”x4” Waffles – I use Aunt Jemima® Pancake Mix but you can use any waffle mix you like.

Parmesan Chicken

4 Boneless Chicken Breasts

2 Lg Eggs

1 tsp Olive Oil

1 ½ C Panko Bread Crumbs*

1 C grated Parmesan Cheese

2 tsp dried Parsley

1 tsp Garlic Powder

Cooking Spray

Parmesan Chicken

1 Jar of Roasted Red Peppers (drained)

Garlic Butter *

1/2 stick Unsalted Butter (softened)

2 Cloves Garlic (minced)

Pinch tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

1 tsp Fresh Basil (chopped finely)

Pinch Table Salt

2 grinds Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Directions

Make sure that your butter has sat at room temperature for at least 1 hour before making the garlic butter. Preheat your oven to 350°F

Trim the fat off of the chicken cutlets and carefully cut the chicken into 2 thin cutlets using a very sharp knife.  Many grocery stores now sell thin chicken cutlets for scaloppini.  They work just as well but are a bit more expensive. In the first bowl beat the eggs with 1 tsp of water and 1 tsp of olive oil. In a second large bowl mix the bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, and garlic powder.

Grease a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Dip each cutlet first in the egg then in the breadcrumb mixture until coated on both sides.  Place the cutlets on the cookie sheet and place them on the middle shelf of the oven for 20 minutes.  After the 20 minutes, turn your oven to broil for an additional 5 minutes. Watch them carefully so that they do not burn. They should be a light golden brown color. I test for doneness using an instant read thermometer reading a temperature of 180°. If you prefer, you can fry the cutlets in oil until golden brown.

Preheat your waffle iron.

While your chicken cutlets are baking prepare the garlic butter. Place the unsalted butter, minced garlic (use a garlic press), red pepper flakes, chopped basil, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk until light and fluffy. Refrigerate any unused garlic butter to make garlic bread.

Make your waffles and place them on a wire rack after removing them from the griddle so that they don’t get soggy.

When the chicken is ready, spread a thin layer of the garlic butter on a waffle. Place 2 baked chicken breasts on the waffle and cover the chicken with drained roasted red peppers. Top with the remaining waffle. Serve immediately.

Sunday breakfast has always been one of my favorite meals. Whether its eggs, pancakes or waffles I look forward to this meal every week. This sandwich was the first time that I used waffles to make a sandwich and the taste was wonderful. If you want your waffle to be extra crispy you can put it in a toaster on light.

* Pronto Substitutes

Waffles – If you are pressed for time or you just don’t own a waffle iron you can use Aunt Jemima frozen waffles.

Garlic Butter – you can substitute Pestonaise^©, a healthy alternative to mayonnaise or you can also add ½ tsp pesto to ¼ C of mayonnaise.

Panko Bread Crumbs – you can substitute plain bread crumbs but the chicken will not be as crispy.

To print a copy of this recipe go to Chicken & Waffles.

www.nickverna.com

www.italian-fusion.blogspot.com

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Copyright © 2012 by Nicholas Verna. All Rights Reserved. No part of this recipe may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without written permission from the author.