Chicken schnitzel

• servings: 12

Ingredients

4 chicken breast fillets

100g (⅔ cup) plain flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 tbsp milk of your choice

salt flakes

400g panko breadcrumbs

25g (¼ cup) finely grated parmesan

extra virgin olive oil (or vegetable oil), for shallow frying

Directions

Working with one piece of chicken at a time and holding it flat with the palm of your hand, slice the fillet into thirds horizontally. Repeat with the other fillets, so you have 12 pieces in total.

Line up six chicken pieces on a long piece of baking paper. Cover with more baking paper and, using a meat mallet or rolling pin, lightly pound to flatten. Repeat this process with the remaining chicken.

Place the flour in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, beat the eggs and milk with a good pinch of salt. In a third bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and parmesan.

Lightly dust each piece of chicken in the flour and dip in the egg wash.

Drain slightly, then coat in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing on the crumbs so they stick.

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add a good splash of olive oil, so it covers the base of the pan. Fry the schnitzels, in batches, for 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and drain on a wire rack placed on a tray – this ensures the chicken stays crisp on the top and bottom.

Serve the schnitzels with mash (below), chips or ratatouille (below). They’re also great with onion gravy.

Notes

Freeze: Layer the uncooked crumbed chicken between pieces of baking paper and arrange in a snap-lock bag or airtight container. Doing this means the schnitzels won’t stick together, so when it comes to thawing, you can easily remove the required number. Seal, label and date. For optimum crispness, thaw and cook within 8 weeks.

Thaw: Thaw the crumbed chicken overnight in the fridge. After thawing, the crumbed coating may seem soft, but it will crisp up when fried.

Reheat: Fry the schnitzels as per the method above. Alternatively, cook from

frozen at 180C in the oven or air fryer for 12 to 15 minutes, turning halfway through.