Meat mains
Lemon and herb chicken goujons with white bean dip and winter salad
This is as close to a chicken nugget as you are likely to see from us. Strips of organic chicken, breadcrumbed and fried until crisp and golden. Here's as a lesson in the art of the flour, egg and bread technique often referred to as a pané. It is a useful and simple skill to learn.
Cook's notes
If the pear is a little under ripe then all the better, as it adds a nice texture to the salad.
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 smaller parsnips
- light olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tin cannellini beans
- 1 pear
- 50g salad leaves
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 egg
- 60g breadcrumbs
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp oregano
- 25g butter
- 40g hazelnuts
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Peel the parsnips and chop them into evenly sized 4cm batons. Coat in oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on the
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Step 2
baking tray and roast until golden and tender, about 20 minutes. Zest and juice the lemon. Peel and finely chop or crush 1 garlic clove. Drain and rinse the beans.
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Step 3
Add the garlic and 1 tablespoon of water to the beans. Coarsely mash it into a paste. Season with salt and pepper. Alternatively, and for a smoother dip, whizz everything up in a food processor. Mix in a dash or two of lemon juice to enliven it to your taste. Peel the pear and chop it into even, 1cm dice. Wash and drain the salad leaves and spin, shake or pat them dry.
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Step 4
Remove and discard the skin from the chicken breasts. Slice them into about 12 even-sized 1½ cm thick strips. Season the strips well with salt and pepper. Tip the flour into a shallow bowl. Crack the egg into the 2nd bowl and beat it thoroughly with a dash of water. Tip the breadcrumbs, paprika, lemon zest and oregano into the 3rd bowl and mix well.
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Step 5
Turn the chicken pieces one at a time in the flour until evenly coated, shake 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. Remove the parsnips from the oven and allow to cool a little while you cook the goujons.
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Step 6
Melt the butter in the frying pan with 1 tablespoon of oil until it just begins to foam. Fry the goujons until golden brown on all sides and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Depending on the size of your frying pan this may be best done in two batches. If so, keep the first batch warm in the oven while you cook the 2nd.
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Step 7
Mix the warm parsnips with the pear, salad leaves and hazelnuts. Dress with a little lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper to taste. Serve the goujons with the white bean dip and the salad on the side.