Crispy Chicken Skewers

Great for lunchGreat for kidsGreat for parties

This kid’s favourite uses a crispy coating made from leftover cheese and breadcrumbs made from slightly old bread. Serve with potato wedges or baked potatoes, carrots and cucumber sticks


By Caroline Marson
Cookery advisor All recipes by Caroline Marson

Ingredients show imperial units

Prep time 25 min
Cook time 15 min

Serves 4

  • 75g slightly stale bread
  • 40g leftover cheese

    Cheese

    Add to eggs for omelettes, grate onto soups or salads.

    • Parmesan often goes rock hard or becomes horribly sweaty. Ideally, all cheese should be stored in a cool, airy place at a temperature of 46-50F/8-10C. However, most of us put it straight into the fridge. This is fine providing the cheese is kept loosely wrapped in its own airtight container so it isn’t tainted by other foods.
    • Store it in the salad drawer, which is not quite as cold as the rest of the fridge and use a micro plane for grating.
    , crumbled or grated
  • Salt
  • Ground black pepper

    Black peppercorns

    Best used as a condiment.

    They can be lightly crushed and used to spice up a creamy sauce or to coat fillet steak or chicken breasts.
    • Although it might seem odd, grinding black pepper over a bowl of strawberries enhances the flavour of the fruit.
    • Pepper that is pre-ground is not fresh tasting and often has other ingredients mixed in.
    • Choose the type of mill that suits you, and if you want coarser pepper you can loosen the screw on the top of the mill or crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar
  • 12 chicken fillets or 4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into long strips, defrosted
For the mayonnaise dip;
  • 6 tablespoon mayonnaise
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 3 tablespoon fresh chopped herbs, such as basil, tarragon, parsley
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Instructions

  1. Soak bamboo skewers in a shallow tray for about 15 minutes.
  2. Put the bread in a food processor and process to crumbs. Transfer to a bowl, stir in the cheese and season.
  3. Mix the mayonnaise, garlic, herbs and seasoning in a bowl. Put the chicken into a bowl and use 4 tbsp of mayonnaise mixture to coat the chicken pieces. Save the remainder of the sauce for dipping.
  4. Weave the chicken onto bamboo sticks and toss into the bread crumb and cheese mixture. Place onto a non-stick baking sheet and drizzle with oil.
  5. Cook under a preheated hot grill for 4-5 minutes on each side. Serve with the remaining mayonnaise and lemon wedges.
  • These could be made without the bamboo skewer, but threading the chicken onto skewers makes them easier to handle when cooking. It’s a good idea to soak the bamboo skewers for 15 minutes in water before grilling, to prevent burning.
  • Keep breadcrumbs in the freezer in bags, they can be used straight from the freezer for toppings, coating fish cakes and adding to stuffings.
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