Herby chicken schnitzel recipe

A healthier take on a fried chicken dinner - under 530 calories per portion.

This herby chicken schnitzel is comfort food at its finest. Tasty chicken breasts, pounded flat to make them fry quickly, covered in golden breadcrumbs. To keep this meal as low calories as possible we've served it with an aromatic salad. The fresh, aniseed flavour of the fennel is the ideal contrast to the fried chicken. Although the ingredients list for this meal is quite long, all the ingredients are easy to source and you'll probably already have many of them in your fridge or store cupboard. It's quick to make too - on the table in under three-quarters of an hour.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, skinned
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 medium egg
• 2 tbsp milk
• 75-100g (2½-3½oz) white breadcrumbs
• 4 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
• About 30g (1oz) butter
• About 4tbsp olive oil

For the fennel salad:

• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 very small red onion, finely sliced and then chopped
• 1 fennel bulb, finely sliced and then chopped
• 2 tsp small, salted capers, rinsed
• 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

1. To make the fennel salad: Mix the mayonnaise and lemon juice in a bowl. Stir in the red onion, fennel, capers and parsley. Season well.
2. Put each chicken breast between 2 sheets of cling film and using a rolling pin, flatten until they’re an even thickness all over.
3. Put flour in a shallow bowl and add seasoning. Lightly beat egg and milk in another bowl and mix the breadcrumbs with the herbs in a third bowl. Dip each piece of chicken in the flour to coat, then in egg and lastly in the herby breadcrumbs, covering them well.
4. Cook escalopes in 2 batches. Heat half the butter and half the olive oil in a large, non-stick pan over a medium heat and cook the chicken for about 3 mins on each side, pressing it down, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the pan, and keep the first batch warm.
5. Wipe pan clean with kitchen paper. Add the rest of the butter and oil, and when hot, cook the remaining chicken. Cut each piece of chicken into 3 or 4 strips. Serve with the fennel salad.

Top tip for making herby chicken schnitzel

For a really light, really crispy coating, try using panko breadcrumbs. They're lighter and absorb less oil than regular breadcrumbs, for a crisper finish. Find them in larger supermarkets, sometimes in the World Foods aisle.

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