Did you see when Jamie Oliver demonstrated to the elementary school kids how a chicken nugget is made on his Food Revolution TV show?  Even though I knew that they were not made from an in tact piece of chicken,  Omgoodness-it was so gross. One of the reasons that I love Jamie Oliver is that he doesn’t take away without giving back.  In this case, with an alternate chicken recipe that kids (and their parents) would love.  From Jamie’s Food Revolution:

“This crumbing technique is so versatile-you can cook pork or even cod in exactly the same way.  As there is butter in the crumb mixture, you can grill fry, roast or bake the meat dry in the oven and it will go lovely and golden.

serves 2

1 clove garlic

1 lemon

6 cream or plain crackers, such as Jacob’s (I would suggest salt-less soda biscuits)

2 T butter

4 springs of Italian parsley

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

2 heaped T flour

1 large egg

2 skinless chicken breast fillets

olive oil

Peel the garlic and zest the lemon.  Put the crackers in a food processor with the butter garlic, parsley sprigs, lemon zest and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Whiz until the mixture is very fine, then pour these crumbs on a plate.  Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat with a fork.  Lightly score the underside of the chicken breasts.  Put a square of plastic wrap over each one and bash a few times with the bottom of a pan until the breasts flatten out a bit.  Dip the chicken into the flour until both sides are completely coated, then dip into the egg and finally into the flavoured crumbs.  Push the crumbs onto the chicken so they stick-you want the meat to be totally coated.

You can either bake or fry the chicken.  If baking, preheat your oven to its highest temperature (475 degrees), place your chicken on a sheet pan and cook for 15 minutes.  If frying, put a frying pan on medium heat, add a few glugs of oil and cook the chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through, golden and crisp.

Either serve the chicken breasts whole or cut them into strips and pile them on a plate.  Beautiful and simple served with a lemon wedge for squeezing over and a tiny sprinkling of salt.  Great with a lovely fresh salad or simply dressed veggies.”

Kath’s quote (even though I would beg to differ):  “All in all, I think the British actually hate food, otherwise they couldn’t possibly abuse it so badly. Americans, on the other hand, love food but seldom care what it tastes like.”-Bill Marsano

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