Chicken Parmesan (Light?)

I wanted to try Cooks Illustrated's Light Chicken Parmesan, mostly because I hardly ever equate Cooks Illustrated recipes with anything light.  Unfortunately, I was so absorbed in the recipe that I forgot to take pictures during the first few steps.  It involved toasting panko bread crumbs, combining those with parmesan cheese, and filling two other shallow dishes with a flour/garlic salt mixture, and two egg whites mixed with water.  I dipped the chicken first in the flour, then in the egg whites, then in the bread crumbs.  I put the chicken on a foil lined baking sheet with a wire rack set inside and baked it at 475 for 25 minutes.


Meanwhile, I made a simple tomato sauce to go with the chicken.  First, I sauteed tomato paste, four cloves of minced garlic, and crushed red pepper in olive oil.

Then I added two 15 ounce cans of diced tomatoes that I had pulsed in the food processor

The recipe called for fresh basil, but I only had dried, so I added that in and then simmered it for about 20 minutes.


Once the chicken was cooked through, I took it out of the oven and topped it with a few tablespoons of sauce and a few tablespoons of shredded mozzarella cheese.  Then it was back in the oven to melt the cheese.  I turned on the broiler at the end to get the cheese brown and bubbly.  


The chicken pieces were so thick from the breading and sauce and cheese that we each only had a half portion.  We ate this delicious creation on a bed of whole wheat pasta topped with more sauce...and of course, with a glass of red wine