Chicken a La Milanese with Spaghetti

With two children under five in my household it’s hardly surprising that what is essentially a giant chicken nugget and a tomato pasta dinner is an absolute winner.

Actually it’s a delicious and comforting family meal and Glen and I are quite partial to it too. It’s a great weekend meal for when you have a little extra time.

The preparation of the chicken is also a great way of getting the children involved in cooking as there are a few stages which they will enjoy, from the bashing of the chicken with a rolling pin to the actual breading of it.

I used four chicken breasts here for a family of four, with two under fives but 2-3 breasts should be sufficient - we just love the leftover chicken.

You can use any tomato sauce based recipe for the pasta - I use a really basic one here with tinned tomatoes. Also we have recently converted to just eating brown rice and pasta where possible, and this was one of my first attempts. I have to say if you’re not used to cooking with brown, go heavier on the oil in the pasta sauce or add more water, as it seems to be a little drier in consistency.

Chicken a la Milanese with Spaghetti

Here’s how;

• 3-4 chicken breasts
• 2 slices wholemeal bread
• 10g Grana Padana
• Salt (pinch)
• Black pepper (pinch)
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 egg

The pasta:

• 300g wholemeal spaghetti
• Kettle full of boiled water
• 1 white onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• Handful of basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• Drizzle olive oil

Firstly prepare the tomato sauce. Begin by adding the olive oil to a saucepan and placing on a gentle low heat.

Peel and dice the onion and mince the garlic and add to the pan to gently soften.

Once soft, add the tin of tomatoes and the tomato puree and about 50ml water.

Remove the leaves from the basil, and finely chop up the stalks and add to the sauce - they give a great flavour to the sauce. Add the oregano and season and allow to cook for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the chicken. Begin by placing a sheet of grease proof paper on your kitchen worktop or table.

Place the chicken breasts onto the paper and season on both sides. Now pull the paper over the top so there is plenty of space around it and press down onto the chicken. Now take a rolling pin or meat mallet if you have one (we don’t) and bash the chicken well all over. This is to make it a little thinner and speed up the cooking process, but also to try and get it to the same thickness throughout, so you don't have one side overcooked.

Once you are happy with the chicken grab three bowls. Into one crack the egg and whisk it.

Into the second bowl add the flour and season generously then stir.

Make breadcrumbs with the two slices of bread - I use a Nutribullet but have done this by hand before on occasion. Throw them into the third bowl. Grate in the Grana Padana cheese and mix up a little bit.

At this point place a large frying pan on a low heat and drizzle in some more oil - you can use vegetable, rapeseed or olive oil here.

Also fill a saucepan with the boiling water and cook the spaghetti for about ten minutes (check the packet instructions).

Now with each chicken breast, first coat it into the seasoned flour, making sure all of the surface is well coated.

Now take the breast and lay it into the beaten egg, again ensuring an even coating.

Finally, you guessed it, coat in the breadcrumbs and again, ensure the cheesy breadcrumbs completely coat the chicken. From there, add the chicken breast straight to the pan to begin cooking. And repeat the entire process until all of the breasts are complete.

Each chicken breast should need about 4 minutes on each side, or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. It may need a little longer depending on the thickness of the chicken.

Once cooked, check the largest or thickest chicken breast by cutting it in the centre to ensure it is cooked through, then allow to rest for four minutes, before cutting the rest in half, or smaller if you prefer.

For the pasta, before draining the pasta, add about 2-3 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water to the sauce to loosen it up and help it to stick to the pasta. Once you’re happy with the consistency, drain the spaghetti and add directly to the pasta sauce pan. Mix well to ensure a good coating of sauce.

Now add the pasta to a large serving bowl and scatter over the remaining basil leaves. I like to grate over a little Grana Padana too at this point. Serve with the chicken on the side. Enjoy!