Meat mains
Herby chicken schnitzel with celeriac remoulade, watercress and apple
Here's a lesson in the art of the flour, egg and bread technique often referred to as a pané. It is a good and simple skill to learn and can be employed on everything from fish goujons to Scotch eggs.
Cook's notes
When peeling celeriac I find that a sharp knife is more convenient than a peeler as the root end can be a little gnarled and tangled. Some wastage is acceptable for a clean result. For a more handsome remoulade you could take the extra time to thinly slice the celeriac and shred each slice into thin matchsticks.
Ingredients
- 30g parsley
- 50g watercress
- 1 lemon
- 1 celeriac
- 40g mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp coarse-grain mustard
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 egg
- 60g breadcrumbs
- 25g Parmesan
- ½ tsp oregano
- 25g butter
- 1 apple
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Wash the parsley, shake dry, remove the leaves and roughly chop them. Wash the watercress, drain and spin or pat dry. Juice the lemon. Peel and wash the celeriac. If the celeriac is large, coarsely grate half of it. If it's small, grate a little more. You are looking for about 300g, if you want to be exact.
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Step 2
Mix the celeriac with 1 tablespooon of the lemon juice and a generous pinch of salt. Mix in the mayonnaise, mustard, a turn of black pepper and half of the chopped parsley. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Take each chicken breast and place it between a folded sheet of baking parchment/clingfilm.
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Step 3
Using the rolling pin, bash it out firmly and evenly until it spreads out to about half cm thick. Season well with salt and pepper. Tip the flour into a shallow bowl. Crack the egg into the second bowl and beat it thoroughly with a dash of water. Tip the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and oregano into the third bowl and mix well. Turn the breasts, one at a time, in the flour until evenly coated, shaking away the excess. Dip and drag each one through the egg so that it is coated, drip away the excess and throw into the breadcrumbs, turn and press until completely coated.
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Step 4
Wash the apple, cut it into quarter's and slice away the core from each. Cut each quarter into thin wedges. Throw the apple together with the watercress. Dress with a little lemon and olive oil to your taste. Melt the butter in the frying pan until it just begins to foam. Fry the schnitzels until golden brown on each side and cooked through, about 2 minutes a side. Serve immediately with the remoulade and watercress salad.