‘R’ rated mac ’N’ cheese & Otis’s killa chicken schnitzel
“We couldn’t do a cookbook without one of our all-time fave dinners in it. We have this at least once a week. It is utterly divine — soul food at its best. The mac is a great way to use up any random bits of cheese in the door of the fridge. We usually serve this with a tangy garden salad (for balance).”
SERVES 2
For the Schnitzel
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
2 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and pepper
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 chicken breast, sliced in half lengthways 1⁄2 cup canola oil
100g Lucky Taco Salsa Verde, to serve
For the Mac
table salt
250g elbow pasta
3 rashers shoulder bacon, chopped into small chunks
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1½ cups whole milk
200g grated mild Cheddar
150g Castello Soft White Cheese with Truffle (see note)
1 tsp good-quality flaky sea salt
1 tsp ground white pepper
1–2 tsp Lucky Taco Habanero Hot Sauce, to taste
zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp truffle oil
1 cup toasted buckwheat
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil cracked black pepper
For the schnitzel, place egg, milk, garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl and mix with a fork.
Put flour and panko on separate plates, and lay out a `breading station’: flour, then egg mixture, then panko.
Pat chicken slices with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture.
Dust chicken generously in flour. Then dip into egg mixture. Then lay in panko breadcrumbs. Make sure both sides have a good thick, even coating.
You can do this ahead of time. Cover crumbed chicken with plastic wrap and place in fridge. This gives the egg a chance to set and lets you clean down your bench, ready for the next task! ted for 4–5 days and can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Get chicken out of fridge 20 minutes before frying, and start frying when your mac is about 10 minutes away from being ready.
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Place chicken in pan and fry for about 5 minutes on each side until dark golden brown.
Remove from pan and place on paper towel to drain off excess oil.
For the mac, bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add 5 good pinches of table salt and the elbow pasta and place over high heat. Cook until al dente (8–10 minutes). Drain and set aside.
Place a large frying pan over medium high heat, add bacon bits and fry, stirring as needed, until light golden brown. With a slotted spoon, lift bacon bits out on to a plate and set aside. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Sprinkle flour over butter and cook for 2–3 minutes on medium heat, whisking until a slack paste forms (if you want to be all posh, this paste is called a ‘roux’).
Add milk and whisk vigorously until combined and smooth. If it starts to clag up, lift pan off the heat, add a touch more milk and whisk until smooth. Stir sauce over medium to low heat until thick and bubbly.
Add cheeses, sea salt, white pepper, hot sauce, lemon zest, truffle oil and fried bacon. Cook until cheeses are fully melted, stirring occasionally.
Pour cheese mixture into pasta and mix thoroughly.
Dish up, scattering with toasted buckwheat and fresh basil leaves, and grind over some black pepper. Add your schnitzel, spoon salsa verde over the top, and don’t forget that side salad.
Note - Use whatever cheese you like — but avoid blue cheese when using truffle oil, as the flavours compete in an un-groovy fashion. You can use blue cheese, of course, but then leave out the truffle oil.
Recipe and image from the The Lucky Taco Cookbook by Otis and Sarah Frizzel (Published by Penguin Random House NZ, RRP $50).
