A Deliciously Crispy Summer Chicken Recipe

I love cooking.  It's a fact that I have more cookery books than I could ever possibly need, but there is something about providing good, home cooked food from simple fresh ingredients that really appeals to me.  Just as I'm not a fan of the fast food/convenience food industry, I'm also not one for slaving over a stove for hours on end in order to provide a nutrious meal, and having a family and running a business doesn't really allow for that anyway.  So when I find something mouthwatering and easy, I like to make a note of it...and then sometimes I like to add my own twist.

I recently stumbled upon a recipe for parmesan chicken in one of Nigel Slater's books which we tried out a few weeks ago.  It was amazing! I'm a big fan of Nigel, I like the way he writes and his recipes generally pan out pretty well.  So, the other day I decided to make my own version of this chicken dish, adding a few extra bits of this and that to make a meal full of summery flavours which was reminiscent of warm sunshiny days, and I was over the moon with the results (as was my daughter) so I thought I would share it here with you.  Here it is:

Crispy Summer Chicken
(serves 2)*

Ingredients:

2 skinless, free range chicken breasts
25g breadcrumbs
grated rind of one lemon
generous handful of parsley
1 large clove of garlic
25g grated parmesan cheese
1 free range egg, beaten
sea salt and black pepper
Olive oil

How to make it:

Pop your chicken fillets into a plastic food bag, or wrap in cling film and give them a good bashing with a rolling pin or similar until they're about 1cm in thickness.

Add the bread, parsley and garlic to a food processor and blitz til you have a good crumbly mixture.
Tip these ingredients onto a plate and add the grated cheese and lemon zest, season the mix with salt and pepper and stir carefully til everything is combined.

Next, take the chicken and coat each fillet well with the beaten egg, then lay the chicken in the herby breadcrumb mixture and cover both sides thoroughly.

Pop your breadcrumbed fillets onto a lightly oiled baking tray, then sprinkle a good dessert spoon of olive oil over the top of each fillet.  This will help the chicken to crisp up delightfully whilst cooking.

Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 20-25 minutes and dish up with some buttery new potatoes and fresh greens or a fresh green salad and crudites.

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The beauty of this particular recipe is that you can adapt the ingredients to make all kinds of amazingly flavoured crumbs ~ why not try adding some dried chillis, or substitute the parsley for thyme and oregano?  *The recipe is also easy to double up should you need to serve more than two.

You can also make a delicious herby dip to go with your chicken if you wish, using a couple of tablespoons of good greek yoghurt, a squeeze of lemon juice and a mix of your favourite summer herbs.

See you soon,
J xxx