British food-lover Keef shows you how to cook amazing food with easy to follow recipes and videos. So stop wasting your time and money on takeaways or supermarket ready meals, and Get Cooking!
If you're not from the north-east of England, you're probably scratching your head and wondering what a parmo is. Well, it's a flattened out chicken breast, coated in breadcrumbs and smothered with bechamel sauce and cheese. Parmos are very popular in the area around Middlesboro and are frequently consumed late at night after a drinking session.
It is thought the name comes from a corruption of 'parmesan', although the cheese used in takeaways is more likely to be cheddar. The choice of cheese is entirely up to you but you want something strong and melty.
Infuse the Milk
This step is completely optional but I like a savoury flavour to my bechamel so I infuse the milk with onion and bay leaf before using it. Quarter the onion. Pour the milk into a non-metal jug, add the onion pieces and the bay leaf and microwave for one minute. Alternatively you can very gently heat the milk in a saucepan. Leave to infuse for 30 minutes.
Bechamel Sauce
Melt the butter in a small saucepan, stir in the flour and when it is all combined, pour in the milk. Bring to the boil, stirring frequently. Add a pinch of salt and about half of the cheese. The sauce should be quite thick - if it isn't, you can make up a slurry of 1 tsp flour mixed with 1 tsp water - stir that in and cook for a minute or so until it thickens. Set the sauce aside until needed.
Chicken
Your chicken should be boneless and skinless. Trim off any bits of fat or sinew, and carefully slice the breast horizontally as thinly as you can. You want the slices to stay connected. Flatten the meat by bashing it with a rolling pin. Coat it in flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs. Shallow fry in oil for about 4 minutes each side, until golden. Dry the chicken on kitchen paper then place on a baking sheet.
Pour the sauce over the chicken, spreading it in a thin layer. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and place under a hot grill (broiler) for about ten minutes or until the cheese has melted.
Serve with chips, salad, and a squirt of garlic sauce.