Actifry Meal #4- Chicken Schnitzel with Steamed Green Bean Salad- HIT
I love me a good fried chicken, but my wife hasn’t let me eat KFC in 4 years. Booh! I’m still figuring out the secret herbs and spices, but until then, this Schnitzel is wonderful. Crispy crust, really juicy chicken and we are just using one tablespoon of oil for the whole meal. Not too shabby flabby!
CHICKEN SCHNITZEL WITH ROAST GREEN BEAN SALAD- Serves 3
INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE CHICKEN
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 chicken breasts
1 cup Panko bread crumbs (regular will also do)
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (aka Parmesan, use real cheese please, nothing out of a box)
½ teaspoon chili flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Juice from 1 lemon
FOR THE GREAN BEANS
1 pound green beans, tips removed
½ cup boiling water
1 shallot, finely diced
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
Salt & pepper to taste
- Remove the ActiFry paddle from the unit. We don’t want our meat moving around. The 2in1 unit has a special compartment for this type of dish, but I have the Gourmet.
- Set timer for 2 minutes. Let the oil warm up.
- Remove the chicken tender from the chicken breast (that little hanging piece from the bottom that no one knows what to do with) and set aside for future cooking.
- Slice the two breasts carefully down the middle to make 4 even pieces. The ActiFry will only be able to handle 3 portions at a time, so add the fourth piece to the leftover tenders and put in the fridge for tomorrow.
- Lay the breasts onto the cutting board, and cover with plastic wrap. Lightly pound each portion so that they are an even thickness. Don’t pound it too thin. Should be at least an inch. Remove plastic, and pat each piece dry. Sprinkle each piece with a generous amount of salt, pepper and chili flake.
- In a large plate, combine Panko and cheese.
- Bread the chicken into the Panko and cheese mixture and put into the ActiFry. Turn machine on for 12 minutes. Go have a coffee.
- After 12 minutes, the chicken should have developed a nice golden crust. Flip over the chicken, turn on the ActiFry and set the timer for another 4 minutes.
- BEEP BEEP, remove chicken onto a plate and let rest.
- For Green Bean Salad, insert the ActiFry paddle back into the centre of the machine, and secure. Add Green Beans, chopped shallots, water, mustard, salt and pepper. Turn on the Machine and set timer for 4 minutes.
- BEEP BEEP, ready to serve. Spritz the lemon juice over the Chicken and Green Beans to finish.
VERDICT: HIT
Again, made a great meal, and only messed up one pot. The Panko and cheese help form a great crust over the chicken, while the inside remained really moist and juicy. Definitely a keeper. Sure deep fried chicken is wicked awesome, but your arteries will say “danke schön” for the Schnitzel. (Get it, German, Schnitzel, ha ha ha!).
bless u…u just sneezed right?
This recipe sounds great Azhar. we’ve been meaning to invest in an actifry but keep having second thoughts. Does the food truly taste similar to other fryers or its obviously different…
It’s doesn’t taste like fried food, but with a little creativity, you can get the crispiness on the outside, and juiciness on the inside. I’d say things like french fries and chicken fingers are 80% as good as deep fried. But with 1 tbsp of oil, 80% is pretty damn good. I’ll keep posting things that do and don’t work. As you saw with my eggs, not everything works. But most things are going pretty well.
How is it with olive oil?
Good, the Actifry stays at a solid 330 degree F, so it doesn’t quite exceed its smoking point. Coconut oil is working suprisingly well (which I will show in my new posts). I’ve been using Vegetable Oil, simply because I had it on hand, it is relatively flavour neutral.