Delicious Chicken Pizzaiola (Pollo alla Pizzaiola) made with juicy chicken cutlets in a flavour-packed, rich tomato sauce and topped with melted smoked Scamorza cheese. Serve with crispy Italian roast potatoes and green beans for a comforting, easy and healthy dinner!
Cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise and bash using a meat mallet or rolling pin until they are between ¼ inch and ½ inch thick.
Sprinkle each chicken cutlet with a pinch of salt then dust in flour until lightly coated, shake off any excess.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil to a large pan or skillet. Once hot fry the chicken on both sides until golden brown (you may need to do this in batches) then transfer to a clean plate. Cover the chicken with foil and set aside.
Add the white wine to the same pan you cooked the chicken and scrape any brown bits with a wooden spoon. Simmer until the wine has reduced by half.
Next, add the plum tomatoes, add 1-2 tbsp of water to the can and rinse out any leftover tomato, add it to the sauce. Crush the tomatoes using a potato masher or wooden spoon then let it simmer on a medium heat for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes the sauce should have reduced. Add the capers, torn fresh basil and a good pinch of salt and pepper, stir.
Add the chicken to the sauce and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, pre-heat your broiler (grill UK).
Cut the scamorza cheese into ¼ inch thick slices. Turn the heat off the chicken then lay slices of cheese over each cutlet.
Put the pan under the broiler (grill) until the cheese is melted and golden, serve.
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Notes
Speed things up - if you're able to buy pre-sliced thin chicken cutlets then you can skip the step of cutting and bashing the chicken and go straight to dredging (dipping in flour).
Good quality tomatoes are a must! - I can't stress enough how important it is to use good quality canned tomatoes. I really can make or break a recipe and it's the key to the best tasting sauce. Brands I trust and have easy access to in the UK and in Italy are Cirio and Mutti (they're also reasonably priced). I've heard a lot of good things about Cento tomatoes in US although have never tried them.
Alternative to scamorza - If you can't find smoked scamorza cheese then you can use fresh mozzarella cut into slices. Dab it with kitchen paper to remove the excess moisture before using.
Leftovers and freezing - leftovers will last up to 3 days in the fridge and can be reheated or you can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.