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Serves: 4
TASTE OF WINTER FACT
Schnitzel is thought to have originated in Austria, although there are records of the Romans breadcrumbing meat and frying it as early as the 1st century. However, the first use of the word ‘schnitzel’ was in Austria in the 1860s and interestingly it can only be called ‘schnitzel’ there by law if the meat used to make it is veal. Today the dish’s popularity has spread right around the world and has many interpretations including escalope in France, tonkatsu in Japan and milanesa in Mexico.
INGREDIENTS
- As Required – Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray
- 2 Lemons – finely zest, then cut off each cheek and squeeze the juice from the remaining part of each lemon.
- 100gm Whole Egg Mayonnaise
- 1 Garlic Bulb – prick the bulb 4 times with a fork, roast in a moderately heated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until the bulb has softened. Remove, allow to cool. Slice off
- ½ cm from the bulb’s base, squeeze out the garlic puree and place it into an airtight container and refrigerate until required.
- 40 Flat Leaf Parsley Leaves – rinse, drain and finely chop.
- 1 bunch Chives – rinse, drain and finely slice.
- 12 sprigs Thyme – pick leaves, rinse, drain and finely chop.
- 50g Parmesan Cheese – finely zest.
- To Taste – Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 40gm Plain Flour
- 2 Eggs – crack and beat.
- 80gm Panko Breadcrumbs
- 200gm Chicken Breast Fillet – halve the breast lengthwise, cut each half into 10 even slices and lightly flatten each slice to the size of a 50 cent coin.
- As Required – Vegetable Oil
- As Required – Sea Salt
METHOD
- Over a moderate heat, spray oil a sauté pan, add the lemon cheeks face down and sear until lightly caramelised.
- In a mixing bowl, add mayonnaise, garlic puree, ½ the lemon zest, parsley and chives, ⅓ the thyme and 2 tsp of parmesan cheese. Mix and season to taste with lemon juice, sea salt and black pepper.
- In a mixing bowl, add the flour. Then in a second bowl add the eggs. In a third bowl, add the breadcrumbs and remaining lemon zest, parsley, chives, thyme and parmesan cheese, mix and season to taste.
- Place the chicken into the flour and toss until lightly coated, remove, shaking off any excess, then place into the egg and toss until lightly coated, remove, allowing any excess to drain off, then place into the breadcrumb mixture and toss until lightly coated, remove, shaking off any excess.
- Over a moderate heat in a sauté pan, add vegetable oil to a depth of 1cm. Once it is sufficiently hot for frying (160°C) in batches, carefully place the schnitzels into the oil and fry until they are lightly browned on both sides and cooked through. Remove from the sauté pan, drain well, place onto absorbent paper and keep warm.
TO SERVE
Lightly sprinkle the chicken schnitzels with sea salt and then stack them on a serving board or platter. Place the aioli into a serving bowl with a teaspoon and along with the caramelised lemon cheeks (for guests to squeeze onto their schnitzels if desired) place next to the chicken schnitzel and serve.
