Wrap the chicken breasts in cling wrap and use a kitchen mallet to beat each of the chicken breasts into an even flat-ish fillet with a thickness of 1-2cm.
Line up a flat plate, two bowls large enough to hold a chicken breast fillet, and a fourth plate for the breaded chicken breast fillets: pour the flour onto the first plate; whisk the egg and milk in the second bowl; and combine the breadcrumbs, half a teaspoon of sea salt, Pecorino parmesan, finely chopped celery leaves and lemon zest in the third dish.
Press a chicken fillet into the flour, one side then the other, so that it’s completely covered in flour; dip the flour-dusted fillet into the milky-egg wash; press the fillet onto the breadcrumb mix, one side then the other, ensuring it’s completely covered in crumbs; then move the fillet to the empty plate, and repeat with the other fillets.
Refrigerate the chicken breast fillets for 30 minutes and, if you don’t have a favourite tomato pasta sauce to hand, you could make our rich tomato sauce recipe in 30 minutes. (link above).
Pre-heat your oven grill/broiler to high and line a large rimmed oven tray with baking paper, as you’ll be taking the shallow-fried chicken fillets direct from the fry pan/skillet to the grill/broiler.
In a fry pan or skillet just large enough to hold two chicken breast fillets, heat 1cm of olive oil until hot, then shallow-fry the first two fillets for around 4-5 minutes a side (no more) until golden-brown. Transfer to a rack to drain off any excess oil and repeat with the next fillets.
Space your chicken fillets evenly apart on the baking tray. If using ham, lay wafer-thin slices on top of the fillets. Use a tablespoon to spread on generous scoops of our rich tomato pasta sauce so the fillets are smothered in the stuff.
Sprinkle on the grated Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan cheese), a little of the mix of finely chopped fresh basil and flat leaf parsley, and the grated mozzarella so that the cheeses completely cover the sauce, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle on some sea salt.
Slide the tray onto the top shelf close to the oven grill/broiler and don’t go away: grill for 5 minutes or so, just until the cheese has melted, then remove and serve immediately.
Sprinkle more of the mix of fresh basil leaves and flat leaf parsley onto the chicken parmas, grind some fresh cracked black pepper on top, and serve with lemon wedges, and a simple side salad – or potato fries for the true pub experience.