Parmo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Parmo or Parmesan is a popular food dish primarily sold in take aways throughout North East England, especially popular in Middlesbrough, where it originated. Its original name was 'Escalope Parmesan' and was made from pork meat or chicken and is served both as a restaurant meal and a take-out snack, often accompanied by chips and a choice of salad, coleslaw or creamed cabbage.

The Parmo was created by Nicos Harris, a chef with the American army in World War II. He was wounded in France but was brought to the United Kingdom to be treated in a British hospital. Eventually, he moved to Middlesbrough and opened a restaurant on Linthorpe Road where he created the Parmo at The American Grill in 1958.

His son-in-law, Caramello, still lives in Teesside and still carries on the family's proud tradition. ^[1]

The Parmo is somewhat similar to the veal or chicken Parmigiana which is commonly eaten in Italian restaurants across the world.

Contents 1 Cooking style 2 TV Appearance 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Cooking style

Making a Parmo involves deep-frying a flattened chicken or pork fillet in an egg and breadcrumb batter, then smothering it in thick Bechamel sauce before topping off with cheddar cheese (the original Parmos were topped with Parmesan cheese, hence the name) and then grilling or baking in the pizza oven. Originally veal was used but later this was replaced by pork. In more recent times chicken parmos replaced pork as more Muslim-owned takeaway restaurants opened.

In the last year or so, an increasing number of take away outlets have started using processed chicken instead of real chicken breast, presumably to keep costs down. Parmos made with processed chicken are generally recognised to be inferior in quality to those made with chicken breast.

The Parmo is generally available in two sizes and terminology varies between outlets:

• Large or full Parmo
• Half, regular or ladies Parmo.

Parmos are also served with the addition of toppings. In 1993 a Teesside man known as "Abo" asked Gi-Gi's takeaway to add some pepperoni to the topping before cooking, following which local takeaways added a variety of "topped Parmos" to their menus. They are usually named after pizza toppings, tend to vary from shop to shop and include:

• Parmo Hotshot - Chicken or Pork, topped with cheese, pepperoni, peppers, garlic butter and chili
• Parmo Kiev - Chicken only, topped with cheese and garlic butter
• Parmo Italia - Chicken or Pork, topped with cheese, garlic butter and ham, with a further topping of mozzarella cheese
• Parmo Bolognese - Chicken or Pork with Bolognese sauce
• Meat Feast Parmo - Chicken or Pork topped with pepperoni, chicken and ham
• Hickory Chicken Parmo - Standard parmo topped with ham and BBQ sauce
• Pizza parmo - Chicken or Bolognese parmo served on a pizza base with chili and garlic sauce^{[citation needed]}
• The Machine Parmo - Sold mostly in Newcastle upon Tyne is a parmo topped with Kebab meat and garlic sauce.
• Nichola Marina Vegetarian Parmo - A vegetarian version of the parmo created by Charlie Constantine and named in honour of his late daughter, who was a vegetarian.^[2]

The full Parmo is usually served in a pizza box along with its chips/fries and side order due to its large size, though a large round polystyrene tray is also common.

[edit] TV Appearance

The Parmo appeared on ITV's Saturday Cooks on 15 December 2007, and was cooked by Antony Worrall Thompson, with guidance from Tamsinne Hatfield who originally brought the recipe to the attention of the chef.

[edit] See also

• Parmigiana
• Wiener schnitzel
• Chicken fried steak

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Parmo - The Parmo Recipe
• Saturday Cooks recipe
• Parmo King - Reviews, Merchandise
• Teesside recipe
• Chicken Parmesan
• Parmo: Teesside's fast food sensation, BBC Inside Out – North East, 11 June 2007