Breaded Chicken Salad
FEEDS 6
Ingredients
2 chicken legs, skin on
2 slices of fresh (nice) bread, cut into cubes
Olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper to season
A handful of rocket leaves
A handful of spinach leaves
1 little gem lettuce
2 spring onions, sliced
A few mint leaves, shredded
Half a pepper, diced
1 carrot and 1 courgette cut in ribbons with a vegetable peeler
500ml sunflower oil
Flour for coating
2 eggs, whisked
A large handful of breadcrumbs
Ground paprika
A few shavings of Parmesan cheese
Dressing
Click here for a choice of dressings.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the chicken legs in an ovenproof dish along with the bread cubes, drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. The bread will soak up the lovely juices that leak from the chicken during cooking. Roast for about 45 minutes in the oven until the chicken is cooked through. If some of the croutons are not crispy, place them back in the oven until they are.
- When the chicken is cooked pull it away from the bone in large strips/chunks. Discard the skin at this point, as it has served its purpose in keeping the meat moist.
- Wash all the leaves and dry them in a salad spinner and place in a bowl along with the spring onions, shredded mint leaves, diced pepper and ribboned carrot and courgette, and toss around.
- To make the breaded chicken, pour about an inch depth of sunflower oil into a large saucepan and bring to a shimmering heat. Put the flour, whisked egg and breadcrumbs into three separate dishes.
- Sprinkle the chicken pieces with ground paprika, then coat in the flour, dip in the whisked egg and then in the breadcrumbs. Make sure they are fully covered in breadcrumbs, then lower them carefully into the hot oil. You can cook a few pieces at a time. Turn over after a minute, when golden, then remove after another minute. Repeat for the remaining pieces of chicken.
- Combine the salad, chicken and croutons on a plate or bowl and serve with shavings of Parmesan cheese and the dressing of your choice.