Adam Ragusa Chicken Parm

Cut the chicken breasts to half their original thickness, yielding four equal pieces. Pound them out on both sides, ideally with a spiked meat mallet. Season both sides liberally with salt and pepper. Put the chicken in a bowl with some of the chopped garlic and just enough white wine to coat. Toss and refrigerate.

For the tomato sauce, fry the shallots and the remaining garlic in olive oil until soft. Put in the tomato paste and fry briefly, then the canned tomatoes and a glug of white wine. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently to keep it from burning.

When the sauce is about ready, prepare to bread the chicken by putting the flour and breadcrumbs onto separate plates and the beaten egg in a bowl. Grate a large pile of cheese onto the breadcrumbs and toss to mix it in. Dry the marinade off the chicken on paper towels.

Put a pot of salted water on the boil for the spaghetti.

Coat each piece of chicken in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs/cheese.

Pour a heavy coating of oil into a wide pan on medium heat. Fry the chicken gently, two pieces at a time, until golden on both sides and the internal temperature reads 160 F — 6-8 minutes. Remove cooked chicken to a cooling rack. You’ll probably need to add more olive oil for the second batch.

Start the spaghetti cooking when you start frying the second batch of chicken, and drain it when finished.

Add basil to the tomato sauce, pour some sauce into the drained spaghetti and toss. Divide spaghetti onto four serving plates and top with grated cheese. Place a few dollops of sauce around the outside of each plate and place the chicken pieces. Dip each bite of chicken into the sauce as you eat.