The chicken/meatball/eggplant/veal parm hero - not only is it my death row meal, it's the object of affection for many of our favorite fictional characters. Spongebob buys an entire house made of parm hero, Joey Tribbiani nearly takes a bullet for one, Agent Harris feeds one directly to a parasite plaguing his body. Go way over the line for this Italian-American classic today - and yes, in this context, it's spelled 'heros'. I think.
Ingredients
1 Eggplant
1 Chicken breast
Italian Red Sauce
1 cup of buttermilk
3 slices of torn white bread
2 cloves of garlic
1 minced onion
Generous grating of parmesan
Generous grating of nutmeg
¼ cup of basil
¼ cup of parsley
A pinch of dried oregano
1 lb beef
1 lb pork
1 lb veal
½ cup of chicken stock
1 packet of gelatin
Salt
Pepper
Flour
Eggs
Panko bread crumbs
Garlic
Butter
Mozzarella cheese
Method
Start by making an Italian Red Sauce from Basics With Babish: Sauces. Once you get all the ingredients together and the sauce is simmering, place in the oven with a cocked lid for 4 hours at 325°F.
In a bowl mix 3 slices of torn white bread, 2 cloves of fresh garlic, 1 small minced onion, a generous grating of parmesan, a generous grating of nutmeg, ¼ cup each of chopped basil and chopped parsley, and a pinch of dried oregano.
Mix chicken stock with 1 packet of gelatin mix and add that to the mixture as well.
Next add 1 lb each of beef, pork, and veal, and season with salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix until everything is fully combined.
Once combined, shape into balls, and place on a well oiled rack on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 400°F for 20-30 minutes or until browned.
Slice eggplant and place on a wire baking sheet. Season with salt on both sides and let sit for 2 hours.
Remove meatballs from the oven and place in your red sauce. Place sauce on stove and let simmer with meatballs on a low heat for about 45 minutes.
For the eggplant, chicken, and veal we’re going to do a simple flour, egg, bread crumb mixture. First place in the flour, then into the egg, and then into the panko bread crumbs. For the veal, I used italian seasoning bread crumbs, but you can use either.
Heat about 1 inch of vegetable oil to 350°F. First add in your eggplant. Make sure you don’t over crowd and that it’s one even layer of frying. Once brown, give them a flip, cook for another minute, let the excess oil drip off and then place on a wire rack to dry. Do the same with the chicken and veal.
Combine butter, garlic, and herbs to make a compound butter and spread that on the inside of a hoagie roll that has been cut in half lengthwise. Place bread under broiler until just brown. Remove from the oven and top one half with either the veal, chicken, meatballs, or eggplant. Place some pieces of mozzarella on top of that and sprinkle it with parmesan and place back under the broiler until cheese is melted. Remove from the broiler and put some red sauce on top of the cheese. Cover with the other half of bread. Cut in half and enjoy!