Chicken Schnitzel with Mustard Mash

Chicken schnitzel served on a bed of mustard mash with peas

The world in which we live is now sadly a very different place to what it was when I unfortunately got out of the habit of posting to this blog what is incredibly now more than one year ago. The sudden arrival of the coronavirus that leads to the onset of Covid-19 has now not only caused a catastrophic number of deaths around the globe, it has led to monumental lifestyle changes for our planet's population, destined to last to one extent or another for what is likely to be a very long time. Just one of the many effects of these lifestyle changes is that many people are now having to cook family meals at home on a regular basis where they rarely if ever did so back in normal times. For principally this reason among others, I decided that it may be a good idea to revive the blog to help many more people wondering just what they can have for dinner on any given night of the week.

I am starting off with a tasty but fairly simple and straightforward recipe for chicken schnitzel (as opposed to the more popular veal or turkey) which can be made in almost any home setting with a minimum of utensils and ingredients.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Ready in: 35 minutes
Serves: 1 adult portion

Ingredients

2 medium sized baking type potatoes (floury/starchy)
Salt
1 fairly large, skinless chicken breast fillet
Black pepper
2 tablespoons plain/all purpose flour
1 egg
3 tablespoons golden breadcrumbs
2 or 3 tablespoons vegetable/sunflower oil for frying
1 cup frozen garden peas
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard (or mustard of choice)
Malt vinegar

Instructions

Start by peeling the potatoes and chopping them to around one and a half inch chunks. Add them to a pot of cold, lightly salted water and put the pot on to a high heat until the water starts to boil. At this stage, reduce the heat to achieve a moderate simmer for about twenty minutes or until the potatoes are just softened.

Stretch come clingfilm over a chopping board and lay the chicken fillet in the centre. Season with a little salt and pepper and stretch a similarly sized sheet over the top. Use a rolling pin or similar to gently pound the chicken to a thickness of around a quarter inch. Do remember that it is not a tough piece of steak and too much pressure will cause it to break apart and be ruined for your purpose. 
 

Chicken breast is flattened between two sheets of clingfilm

Scatter the flour over one small plate and the breadcrumbs over another. Break the egg in to a flat bottomed bowl and beat lightly with a fork until the white and yolk are combined. Pat the chicken fillet firstly in the flour on both sides before dipping it in the egg (making sure it is fully coated) and patting it on both sides in the breadcrumbs.
 

Chicken fillet is breadcrumbed for frying

When the potatoes have been simmering for about ten minutes, pour some cooking oil in to a small, non-stick frying pan and bring it up to a medium heat. Lay the breaded chicken in the pan and fry for five to seven minutes each side until cooked.
 

Breaded chicken fillet is added to hot frying pan

When the potatoes are softened, drain them through a colander at your sink then return them to the empty pot and allow them to steam off for a few minutes to dry out while you bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the peas to simmer for three minutes. Mash the potatoes with a hand-masher and stir the mustard through the mash with a spoon.

Wholegrain mustard is added to mashed potato

Drain the peas through a colander and season in the colander with salt, pepper and malt vinegar. This allows you to shake the colander gently to evenly disperse the seasonings.

Peas are seasoned after being drained

Spoon the mustard mash in to the centre of a deep serving plate and spoon the peas around it before laying the chicken schnitzel on top for service.

Peas are arranged around mustard mash bed

Thank you for reading today's recipe and I hope you like it enough to give it a try. I hope you do stay well and manage to return to read more ideas for dinner at home - for one or for the family - in the very near future.