Ingredients
2 large skinless chicken breasts
50g plain flour
2 eggs, beaten
100g oats
2 lemon, finely grated zest
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
10-12 cherry tomatoes, cut half
100gm black olives (pitted)
4-5 anchovy fillets, oil drained and roughly chopped
3-4 Basil leaves
Parsley Sprig (Crispy Fried)
METHOD
Heat the oven to 190-200 ° C.
Using a rolling pin, gently bash the chicken breasts between two sheets of cling film until flattened to 2.5cm thick. Set aside.
Put the flour, egg and oats in three separate shallow bowls.
Mix the finely grated lemon zest and half of the chopped garlic into the flour and season well with salt and pepper.
First coat the chicken breasts with flour, then coat with egg and finally with oats. Shake off any excess oats each time.
Arrange chicken on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tbsp oil and bake in a preheated oven at 190-200 C for approximately 25 minutes, turning halfway through.
Rest the chicken for 5 minutes before slicing.
Meanwhile, prepare puttanesca sauce, fry the remaining garlic in the remaining oil in a pan set over low fire.
Heat for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes, olives and anchovies and basil.
Season well and simmer the heat, stirring regularly, for 15 minutes.
Serve the chicken with the puttanesca sauce, scatter with zested lemon, lemon wedges and fried parsley if you like.
For those who are yet to be acquainted with schnitzel, the term refers to meat that is pounded well until the required thinness is achieved. For this, a meat tenderizer is used and meat preparation involves frying in some kind of oil or fat after the meat has been coated with flour, egg, and crumbs (for this recipe, oats). It has its origin in Austria and the breaded version has spread all over the world. Different kinds of meat can be used from chicken to beef and mutton among others. Schnitzel is very similar to the tonkatsu of Kapan and the milanesa of some Latin countries.
In Iran, shenitsel, their local version, is also very popular having been introduced during the World Wars but unlike its Western counterparts, the preparation in this country is often thicker, bigger and spicier and is served with lemon, French fries and boiled veggies.
Puttanesca sauce has a long history but it has gained popularity because it’s easy and fast to prepare. Because of the ingredients involved — garlic, capers, olives, and crushed red peppers — it’s full of flavour that is both assertive and pungent, unlike other traditional sauces. Some love mixing their sauces with anchovies. The key to a proper puttanesca sauce is mixing sure that you have plenty of the mentioned ingredients. It is meant to be intense in flavour and while others will argue the addition of lemon, at the end of the day, it’s all about what you prefer in your food.
With over 20 years of culinary experience, Executive Chef Ajay Dhoundiyal leads the diverse and multi-cultural team of Park Inn by Radisson Muscat Hotel, a post he held since September 2012. Chef Ajay specializes in international cuisine and enjoy preparing sophisticated dishes not only from his home country but most especially Asian food including Thai dishes among others. His mission is to bring something interesting to his banquet menus. Highly creative, detail oriented with a strong work ethic and a passion for the culinary arts, he likes to challenge himself daily seamlessly managing the dining experience of hotel guests and at the same time cultivating his and that of his team’s skills and talents in the kitchen.
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