Foodie tried to make parmo at home - the Teesside delicacy 'that should be available across UK'

When you're not on Teesside and fancy a parmo you’ve got limited options.

But you can try and make one yourself if you’re handy in the kitchen. Yorkshire Live writer Dave Himelfield decided to do just this with no takeaways or restaurants offering the breaded chicken delight near his home.

Here’s what he had to say. The parmo, a dish that first caught my attention during a work trip to Middlesbrough in 2007, has stayed on my culinary radar ever since.

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Despite spending five days in the town, I never got around to trying this local speciality, instead choosing to dine at Sassari, a now-defunct Sardinian restaurant, and The Massala, a traditional curry house. The parmo is essentially a breaded chicken cutlet, deep-fried and smothered with bechamel sauce and cheese, usually cheddar. Interestingly, despite its name, there's no actual parmesan involved, even though it's a spin-off of the American-Italian chicken parmesan.

The credit for inventing the parmo goes to Nicos Harris, a Greek-American navy chef who was injured off the French coast during World War Two. After being treated at a hospital in Middlesbrough, he decided to make the industrial North Yorkshire town his home.

He opened a restaurant called The American Grill, where he created the parmo based on the American-Italian chicken parmesan. This dish itself is a fusion of Southern Italy's aubergine parmesan and Milan's breaded chicken cutlet.

Whether Nicos' creation was a result of inventive flair or a lack of ingredients to make a traditional chicken parmesan remains unclear. However, the parmo has gained immense popularity in Teesside, with one pub, The Ship, at Redmashall, Stockton, offering 27 different variations.

The parmo, a Teesside delicacy, remains an enigma to many outside the region. You might spot it in a hip cafe or at a food festival, but it's a rare find in the eateries of Todmorden.

Inspired by Nicos, who perhaps sought to recreate a taste of home abroad, I embarked on making my own. Having previously prepared chicken parmesans from scratch, I didn't expect it to be too challenging.

A shortcut I vow not to take again....

Admittedly, there's the hassle of preparing the chicken-cutting, tenderising, seasoning, flouring, dipping in egg, and breadcrumbing-but it's straightforward. In a lapse of culinary judgement, I opted for a store-bought jar of béchamel sauce, a shortcut I vow not to take again.

While a traditional parmo is deep-fried, I chose to bake mine to avoid adding to my waistline. Generously oiling the cutlets before baking achieves a satisfying crispness.

After about 25 minutes in the oven, I added the béchamel and grated Red Leicester cheese for a pop of colour, then baked until it bubbled enticingly. Typically accompanied by chips and a salad-which often goes untouched after a night out, a parmo can also pair well with roast potatoes or patatas bravas for a more refined twist.

As someone new to the parmo experience, I anticipated a guilty pleasure akin to a subpar chicken parmesan. To my surprise, it was an epiphany, eliciting a "where have you been all my life? " reaction.

The crispy breadcrumb batter and tenderly battered (read: walloped with a rolling pin) and seasoned chicken surpass any kiev or schnitzel you've ever tasted. The rich béchamel sauce with hints of nutmeg and the thick layer of melted cheese elevate this humble cutlet to the heights of a superb chicken parmesan.

I'm certain that if I'd sampled a hastily prepared one from a questionable takeaway in Boro, I'd be less impressed. However, given some time and care, my homemade parmos were top-notch.

Perhaps when people hear 'Middlesbrough' or 'Teesside' associated with the parmo, they turn their noses up. To put it bluntly, it's not exactly a region renowned for its culinary delights. But this wonderful culinary accident should be available all over Yorkshire, if not Britain.

Teessiders if you've got any tips for making a parmo at home let us know in the comments section below.

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