Who doesn’t love fried chicken! Well our waistline I suppose… this is my hack for when you are craving something a little naughty à la KFC but are trying to keep things as healthy as possible.

It’s crispy, spicy and super Moorish. I like to serve mine with a big fresh salad but their is nothing stopping you whipping up some gravy, beans and fries and going all out!

Makes 2 portions

Southern Baked Chicken

  • 2 large Chicken Breasts
  • 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 6 Tbsp. Lemon Oil (Or just use Olive Oil if you don’t have this)
  • 1 Tsp. Wholegrain Mustard

For the Breadcrumb Coating;

  • 1 Egg
  • 1 handful of Plain Flour
  • 100g or 1 Box/Pack Breadcrumbs
  • 1 Large Lemon
  • ½ Tsp. Turmeric
  • 1 Tsp. Paprika
  • 1 Tsp Oregano
  • Black Pepper
  • Sea Salt

For the Chopped Salad;

  • 1 Baby Gem Lettuce (chopped up)
  • 1 Pack of Lambs Lettuce, Baby Spinach or Baby Kale
  • 2 Red Peppers
  • 10 – 20 Pitted Green Olives
  • 10 – 20 Sunblush Tomatoes (depending how much you like them! – I love them so always add lots!)
  • 1 Avocado
  • 1 Handful of Fresh Basil
  • 1 Ball of Mozzarella

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 175 Degrees Celsius.

Add a drizzle of Olive Oil onto a large baking tray and with your fingers just ensure the whole tray is lightly covered.

Slice the Chicken Breasts into goujon sized pieces – you should be able to get around 12 good pieces from both.

Add the Plain Flour to a large shallow bowl and add a pinch of Black Pepper & Sea Salt. Crack your Egg into another large shallow bowl and whisk it up with a fork. Pour your Breadcrumbs into a 3rd large shallow bowl and add the following; Zest of 1 Lemon, Turmeric, Paprika, Oregano, a twist of Black Pepper, a pinch of Sea Salt and mix.

So now for the production line! Line up all your bowls; Flour, Egg & the Breadcrumbs and start by keeping 1 hand dry and one wet. The easiest way to do this is; take a piece of Chicken with your left hand and place it in the Flour bowl ensuring it is covered all over, then place the Floured Chicken into the Egg mixture using the same hand and cover it all over, finally place the Floured/Eggy Chicken into the breadcrumb mixture and use your clean dry right hand to cover it in the Breadcrumbs. Place the Chicken onto the prepared baking sheet. Continue to do this for all the pieces of Chicken until you have a tray full of beautiful crumbed Goujons!

Place the Red Peppers onto the same tray as the Chicken Goujons, drizzle with a little Olive Oil and then put the whole thing into the middle shelf of the oven for 20-25 minutes.

While that is baking you can crack on with the Salad. Take a large dish and pour in the chopped Baby Gem and Lambs Lettuce. Roughly chop the Olives & Sunblush Tomatoes up and scatter these on top of the Lettuce along with torn up pieces of the Mozzarella & Basil. Slice the Avocado and add this on top.

For the Salad Dressing take a jug or jar and add the Lemon Oil or Olive Oil whichever you are using, along with the Juice of 1 Lemon and the Wholegrain Mustard. Mix together and pour over your Salad with a few sea salt flakes and black pepper. Give everything a good mix together ensuring it is all coated in the dressing.

Once the Chicken Goujons are ready (they should be crispy and golden all over) remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes while you chop up the Red Peppers. Place the Red Pepper slices on top of the salary and then add on your Chicken Goujons to serve.

Tips;

  • Once the Chicken pieces are covered in Breadcrumbs you should cook them within the hour to avoid the Breadcrumbs going soggy.
  • Once you’ve added the Avocado to your Salad if you aren’t going to make the dressing right away just squeeze a little fresh Lemon Juice on the Avocado slices to keep them from going brown from the air.
  • If you like your Chicken Goujons with a little spice just add in ½ Tsp. Chilli Powder along with the other spices to the Breadcrumbs.