A guilty pleasure we share is pairing something fried and crunchy with something fresh and green. What is it about the combination of fried food and fresh greens that is so delicious? Maybe it’s the confluence of highbrow and lowbrow, "healthy" and "unhealthy" foods, or a texture thing that makes for such a yummy mouthful.
Annabel’s mother (and Rose’s grandmother), Anne, was the queen of schnitzel. Hers was always made with beef or occasionally veal when she could find it. It was crisp, tender and not at all greasy. Anne always served hers very traditionally, with a couple of gherkins. We loved it!
With this in mind, our first recipe is for crispy buttermilk chicken schnitzel. Schnitzel (and Milanese) seems to be having a moment right now, popping up in trendy wine bars and restaurants all over the world.
It feels like a good time to revisit this Austrian (or German, we don’t take sides) classic. We’ve chosen to use chicken here, but you can use veal or even beef if you prefer. We love to serve it with a crisp elegant salad, herby aioli and pan-fried capers.
The other recipe is for an elegant grapefruit salad with mozzarella and watercress that’s bright, peppery and zingy — just what we crave at this time of year. This is an excellent recipe to have up your sleeve — it looks so gorgeous, but also eats really well. We love a versatile salad, and this one is just that. Supreming the grapefruit (see picture) ensures you get all the sweetness and flavour without any bitterness.
You can also play around depending on what you have at hand: use oranges in place of the grapefruit, avocado in place of the mozzarella, or burrata in place of the mozzarella. Rocket can be substituted for watercress, and radicchio instead of endive. Basil, coriander, dill, or parsley can be used in place of mint. This is also delicious with added thinly sliced fennel, green Sicilian olives, or chopped toasted almonds or hazelnuts.
Crispy buttermilk chicken schnitzel with fennel, pear and endive salad
There are a few components to this recipe, but don’t be deterred! You can make everything ahead of time and fry the schnitzel when you are ready to serve.
SERVES 4
Ready in: 40 minutes + marinating
Suitable for: GF RSF
4 chicken schnitzels (or two large chicken breasts)
½ cup flour or rice flour
2 cups panko crumbs or gluten-free equivalent
2 eggs
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup neutral oil, plus extra for frying
Lemon cheeks, to serve
Buttermilk marinade
1 cup buttermilk (see notes)
1 clove garlic, finely minced with pinch of salt
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp chopped tarragon, parsley or dill
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Freshly ground pepper
Crispy capers (optional)
2 Tbsp neutral oil
3 Tbsp capers, drained and patted dry with a paper towel
Garlic aioli
½ cup mayo
1 small clove garlic crushed to paste with a pinch of salt
2 Tbsp finely chopped tarragon leaves (or finely chopped) parsley leaves
Fennel, pear and endive salad
1 bulb fennel, finely sliced
1 Belgian endive, leaves separated
1 head of baby cos lettuce
¼ cup chopped parsley, dill, or tarragon
1 small pear or apple, thinly sliced
Simple lemon dressing
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp maple syrup or honey
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground pepper
If you are using chicken breasts, cut them in half horizontally through the middle. Place each half between two sheets of baking paper and use a meat mallet or rolling pin to gently pound out the breasts until they are about ½cm thick. Repeat with the remaining chicken until you have four flattened schnitzels.
Marinate the chicken
Place buttermilk, garlic, Dijon, chopped herbs, lemon zest, and pepper in a bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat. Marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
Garlic aioli
Combine everything in a small bowl.
Crispy capers
If making the crispy capers, heat oil in a frypan over medium heat. Fry capers until crispy (2 minutes). Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel and set aside.
Crumb schnitzels
Place flour on one shallow plate, panko crumbs in another and whisked eggs in a shallow bowl. Season everything with a little salt and pepper. Drain chicken well from the marinade. Dredge chicken in flour to coat both sides and shake off excess, then dip into beaten and seasoned egg, then into the panko, pressing to coat both sides. Transfer to a large flat plate and chill in the fridge for 10–20 minutes.
Salad
Place all ingredients except for the pear in a bowl of iced water to sit and crisp up for 15 minutes. Drain thoroughly to remove any excess water and transfer to a serving bowl. Mix in sliced pear or apple just before serving.
Dressing
Place all ingredients in a small jar and shake to combine. Spoon over the salad when you’re ready to serve.
Frying
When you are ready to fry the chicken, heat the oil in a large frypan over medium heat.
Working in batches, cook chicken for 4-5 minutes each side until golden and cooked through, adding more oil as necessary between batches. Drain cooked schnitzels on paper towels.
To serve
Transfer the schnitzels to four dinner plates. Sprinkle with crispy capers, if using, and some flaky sea salt.
Serve with lemon cheeks, your dressed salad and aioli.
Notes:
• You can make your own buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a cup of milk. Allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Because of its slight acidity, buttermilk has the ability to tenderise the chicken so it is never tough and chewy (the same works for veal and beef).
• If you are scaling up this recipe, place cooked schnitzels in a warm oven while you’re cooking the remainder so they are all hot when you serve. If you can’t find chicken schnitzels, you can use chicken breasts (we’ve included instructions for how to prepare them in the recipe).
• To make this gluten-free, use gluten-free crumbs and rice flour.
• You do need to crumb the schnitzels in advance and chill them before cooking, as otherwise the crumb can fall off.
Grapefruit salad with mozzarella and watercress
This is an excellent recipe to have up your sleeve as we look forward to spring entertaining — it looks so gorgeous, but also eats really well. If endive is hard to find, add another fennel bulb or some apple, it’s all about the crunch factor!
SERVES 4 as a side
Ready in: 10 minutes
Suitable for: GF RSF V
2 grapefruit
2 Belgian endives
2 large handfuls of watercress or rocket
1 x 150g ball of fresh mozzarella
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground pepper
A few sprigs of mint, dill, basil or parsley
Grapefruit dressing
2 Tbsp grapefruit juice
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp maple syrup
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
Prepare your grapefruit. Use a sharp knife to trim off each end. Set a flat side on the cutting board and then slice off the peel and pith in sections, following the round shape of the fruit as a guide. Remove as much of the pith as you can. Cut the fruit in between the membranes, to create small segments, cutting towards the centre along the membrane on each side.
Tip the juices from the board into a small bowl adding the squeezed juice from the leftover segmented fruit (there should be around two tablespoons). Add the olive oil, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Mix to combine and set aside.
Trim the tough bases from the endive to release the leaves, discarding any that are bruised or wilted.
To assemble the salad, place endive leaves and watercress/rocket on a serving platter.
Sprinkle over the grapefruit segments, and tear the mozzarella into large chunks, dispersing them evenly across your platter.
Spoon over the dressing, then zest over your lemon and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Garnish with herbs and serve immediately.
WHAT IS SUPREMING?
To get sweetness and flavour from grapefruit without any bitterness, the trick is to remove all visible pith and then cut each segment in between the membranes. You can then squeeze the juice out of what is remaining to add to your dressing.
