Lambros' kitchen travellog

Now it’s time to make something much less exotic for the “western palate”! How about some australian pub food? I must say, that I was not expecting this to be this tender! Although the recipe was explicit about using parmigiana, I experimented with some other types of cheese (mainly because that’s what I had at home at the moment!)

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts (or 6–8 chicken thigh fillets)
• Salt + black pepper
• Plain flour (about 80 g)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 150–200 g breadcrumbs or panko
• 1 tsp dried oregano (optional)
• Neutral oil for frying (rapeseed)
• Tomato sauce: 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 garlic cloves (minced), 1 tbsp tomato purée, 1 × 400 g crushed tomatoes, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp dried oregano/basil, salt & pepper
• Topping: 150–200 g grated mozzarella (or pizza cheese) + 50 g grated parmesan (optional)
• Optional (pub style): 4 slices ham

Steps

• Make sauce: Sauté garlic in olive oil 30 sec. Stir in tomato purée 30 sec. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar and herbs. Simmer 10–12 min; season.
• Prep chicken: Slice breasts horizontally to make thinner cutlets, or pound to ~1 cm thickness. Season.
• Crumb: Set up 3 plates: flour fi egg fi breadcrumbs (mix breadcrumbs with oregano if using). Coat chicken in that order.
• Fry: Heat a thin layer of oil in a pan over mediumnhigh. Fry 3–4 min per side until golden and cooked through (work in batches).
• Top & grill: Place schnitzels on a tray. Spoon sauce on each, add ham if using, then lots of mozzarella (+ parmesan). Grill/broil 2–4 min until bubbly and browned.
• Serve: Rest 2 min, then serve hot

Serve (Aussie pub style)

• With oven chips (fries) and a simple salad (lettuce + cucumber + tomato)
• Optional: a spoon of mayo or aioli on the side
• Bulgur works great as an easy weekday side

Notes & swaps

For an easier weeknight version, bake the crumbed chicken at 220°C for ~18–22 minutes (flip once), then add sauce/cheese and grill to finish. Panko gives the crunchiest ‘pub’ crust