I have made a salad with a quick pickle but you could also serve the crumbed chicken with your favourite coleslaw. Oven-roasted potato or kumara wedges finish the meal.
Quick red onion pickle
½ cup
Apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp
White sugar
1 tsp
Sea salt
1 cup
Water
1
Red onion, finely sliced
Salad and Dressing
1 Tbsp
White wine vinegar
1 tsp
Dijon mustard
1 tsp
Honey
4 Tbsp
Extra virgin olive oil
1 serving
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 head
Crunchy lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried (Main)
1 handful
Toasted nuts, almonds, macadamia or hazelnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
Make the pickle, in a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, salt and water. Add the onion, cover and leave to sit for an hour. (This pickle can be made 1 week in advance – drain before using).
Make the salad, place the vinegar, mustard, honey and oil in a small screw top jar. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place on the lid and shake well. Taste adding more salt if needed.
Tear or shred the lettuce leaves into bite-sized pieces and place in a serving bowl. Scatter over the nuts, if using and set aside.
Place the chicken breasts on a chopping board and cut through each breast horizontally and open out (as if you were reading a book). Cover the chicken with baking paper and using a meat mallet or the base of a small heavy saucepan, pound the chicken until it is about 5mm thick.
Place the flour and egg in separate shallow bowls. Place the panko crumbs and Parmesan in a shallow bowl and mix to combine.
Dredge a piece of chicken in the flour, shaking off excess. Dip into the egg mixture until well coated and allow excess to drip off chicken. Place chicken into the panko mix and gently pat down on each side, ensuring that it is well coated. Place on a tray while coating the remaining chicken in the same way.
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat then add oil to cover the base. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken (don't overcrowd the pan – you may need to fry in 2 batches) and pan-fry for 2-3 minutes on each side. Drain on kitchen paper and season.
To serve, dress the salad with enough dressing to moisten. Drain the red onion and scatter over. Serve with the crumbed chicken.