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Parmo

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A typical take-away Parmo

Parmo or Parmesan is a food dish originating in Middlesbrough and popular in the North East of England, especially in the Teesside area and Darlington. It typically consists of deep fried chicken in batter topped with a white béchamel sauce and cheese. Variations use pork, fish or a vegetarian main component.

Origins

The Parmo originated as 'Escalope Parmesan' a derivative of veal or chicken Parmigiana, a dish found in several areas where Italians immigrants have settled. The parmo is said to have been 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 continues the family tradition.[1]

Preparation

Chicken or pork fillet is flattened then dipped in egg and then breadcrumbs after which it is deep-fried. Onto this is poured a thick white sauce (similar to béchamel sauce, but butter may be partially or wholly replaced by other fats) and then it is topped with grated cheese. The cheese is usually a hard cheese such as cheddar, rather than Parmesan cheese, that originally gave the dish its name. The dish is then grilled or baked to melt the cheese.

Recent years have seen an increase in the number of outlets preparing the parmo with reformed chicken rather than solid fillet.

Serving

A Parmo is often accompanied by chips with a salad, usually consisting of shredded cabbage, lettuce, tomato, cucumber and onion. Garlic sauce is a popular accompaniment on Teesside.

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

  • Large or full Parmo
  • Half or regular Parmo (sometimes known as a "ladies' parmo")

Variations

Originally veal was used but later this was replaced by pork. In more recent times chicken became more popular as more Muslim-owned takeaway restaurants opened. Fish and vegetarian parmos are also offered in certain restaurants.

Parmos are also offered with additional toppings in combinations that vary from restaurant to restaurant. For example:

A Meat Feast Parmo from 'Four Seasons' in Stockton on Tees
  • 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
  • Meat Feast Parmo - Chicken or Pork topped with pepperoni, chicken and ham
  • Nichola Marina Vegetarian Parmo - created by Charlie Constantine in honour of his late daughter.[2]

Due to its size, a full Parmo is usually served in a pizza box along with its accompaniments, although a large round polystyrene tray is also common.

Supermarket sales

In 2009, supermarket chain Asda started selling parmos in their shops in Teesside. They claimed they were selling 6,000 chicken parmos a week, making them at the time the shop's fastest selling line. Asda later expanded this line to branches outside Teesside.[3][4]

Nutritional Information

In 2007 North Yorkshire Trading Standards conducted a survey of 25 fast food dishes. A large Parmo with chips and salad contains approximately 2600 calories and 150g of fat.[5]

TV Appearances

  • 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.
  • The Parmo was the subject of a question in the TV quiz show Eggheads on 13 November 2009. In the final round, when asked the region from which the Parmo originates, the challenging team incorrectly answered East Anglia, in preference to North Wales and the correct answer Teesside. The incorrect answer given meant that the Eggheads won that particular day's contest. Ironically for the show, Teesside was misspelled 'Teeside'.
  • On 30 May 2010, a small Parmo was served as a starter in an edition of Channel 4's Come Dine with Me filmed in Darlington.

See also

In 2011 ACT 2 CAM youth film company produced "The Poisoned Parmo", a short film about a disreputable Parmo vendor.

References

  1. ^ "Parmo Inventor". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2007. {{cite web}}: Text "Development story" ignored (help)
  2. ^ Sutton, John (11 March 2009). "Buck Inn chef names Teesside's first vegetarian parmo after tragic daughter". Evening Gazette. Retrieved 12 March 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "Parmos flying off store shelves". BBC. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  4. ^ "The parmo goes national". The Guardian. 9 October 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  5. ^ "Parmo Nutritional Information". wikianswers. Retrieved 16 February 2009. {{cite web}}: Text "Development story" ignored (help)
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