Parmesan Chicken with Courgetti and Tomato Sauce

While they can have their place in a gluten-free diet, we prefer not to use many processed gluten-free pasta alternatives. They tend to be highly processed and are typically blood-sugar spiking, due to the grains like rice they are made from. We are also mindful of likely arsenic levels in rice (even organic).

We enjoy making spaghetti or noodles out of vegetables - courgette is the easiest and most convincing. We use a very basic OXO handheld spiraliser. We have tried the machines, and I am sure there are better ones out there, but this simple tool works here.

This recipe is a great Saturday night meal. Apart from the sauce, it can’t be made ahead, but it does come together quickly.

The parmesan is totally optional. The chicken crust is well flavoured with the garlic and onion powder. The basic recipe was inspired by Carrie Vitt’s version, in her book The Grain Free Family Table. It’s an excellent book. We just like to add more seasoning to the crumb.

Paremsan is used here. While dairy is large topic when it coes to Down syndrome (I will cover this in a full article soon), raw, fermeted dairy (e.g. hard cheeses like Parmesan or Pecorino, as well as Comte, Gruyere etc.) can be easier to digest and more nutritious. It is still a delicious meal without any cheese.

Ingredients (serves 4):

Chicken

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (organic - ideally pasture raised)

• 1 cup almond flour

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 2 eggs

• 2 tablespoons ghee

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano, if using.

Courgette/zucchini noodles

• 4 medium courgettes

• 1/2 teaspoon Celtic Sea salt

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Tomato sauce

This dish works well with this Batch Cooked Tomato and Vegetable Sauce (especially if you save small portions and freeze). However, a simpler but equally delicious tomato sauce you can make on the stove top is below:

• 1 tablespoon ghee (rather than olive oil, as you will be cooking the garlic, and you don’t want to use much heat with the olive oil)

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tin crushed organic tomatoes

• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan or Celtic Sea salt

• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs

Instructions:

Preheat the grill on a low setting. You will be melting the parmesan on top of the chicken, if using, later. Prepare a baking tray ready for this.

Pound each chicken fillet thinly. I use baking paper, folded, with the chicken fillet inside and a rolling pin. I do one fillet at a time this way. You could also use a plastic sealable bag.

Spiralise the courgette into spaghetti/noodles. Place the spaghetti/noodles when done into a large bowl, season with the salt and toss through well. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. Then drain into a colander (don’t rinse). Allow do drip into the empty bowl below. Leave to drain while preparing the rest of the meal.

Next up, make the sauce. Heat the ghee and garlic in a small saucepan over a low-medium heat. One the garlic starts to cook (about 1 minute), add the tomatoes, salt and Italian seasoning. Simmer on low for 10 minutes. The sauce will thicken, reduce and increase in richness of flavour and sweetness.

Mix the almond flour, onion powder, garlic, powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pour the mixture our onto a plate and spread around.

Whisk the eggs into a wide-bottomed bowl.

Add the ghee to a large pan (the larger the better, so you can cook more fillets at a time).

Dip the chicken into the egg, coating each side. Then place in the almond flour coating and cover well (using 2 forks for this helps). Then place into the pan of hot ghee.

***Tip*** I recommend removing a small piece of chicken and doing a test run for flavour/seasoning, oil temperature and cooking time first, before cooking the whole batch.

Cook each fillet for 4-5 minutes on one side, without moving (the seal of the crumb can easily break at this stage). You want the bottom golden brown, not burned. Turn over and cook for another 4-5 minutes, depending on fillet thickness.

For the first fillet, it’s a good idea to cut into the thickest part to ensure the meat is cooked. Then place into the baking tray and keep warm under the low grill.

Cook the remaining fillets. Add more ghee as needed.

Place all the coated and cooked chicken fillets into the baking tray. Top with a good sprinkling of parmesan each (if using) then place under the grill on a low heat. Just enough to melt the cheese. This will only need a few minutes (watch it doesn’t burn).

Wipe the empty pan with kitchen paper (or use a fresh pan, if you don’t mind the washing up!). Pour the courgetti into the pan, then add 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. On a low heat, toss the oil through the courgetti and allow to soften slightly. We prefer some bite to it, so it keeps its shape and flavour well. This will only need a couple of minutes.

While cooking the noodles, reheat the tomato sauce as needed.

Serve up the chicken alongside a pile of the noodles and a generous helping of the tomato sauce. Dinner done.