Variation: Spicy Chicken fingers

I'm always making some kind of chicken fingers.  They're simple to make, quick and easy.
So I keep making different variations to keep myself entertained. Plain chicken fingers would be boring.
I've made Honey Turkey Fingers, Pesto Chicken Fingers and now I've added a Spicy Chicken fingers to my collection as well.

It's exactly like making the pesto chicken fingers except you use hot pepper sauce, or a chilli paste

instead of a pesto sauce.  I used a couple of tablespoons of my Calabrian spicy sauce to coat my chicken and then dredged them in my bread crumb mixture and then cooked them as per usual.  Quite simple and fast.
I served it with a light and spicy potato salad and a lovely green salad with feta, tomatoes, red onions and a mix of greens (made by my friend and kitchen assistant Endira).
They were tender and full of flavor and I absolutely love the color! The spicy sauce when cooked under the bread crumbs added a beautiful red tint to the chicken fingers.

Recipe: Pesto Chicken fingers with Cauliflower Salad and Potatoes

Last week at the supermarket I found breadcrumbs and chicken breast and therefore the most logical thing to make was chicken fingers. Except, I am not remotely capable of making anything simply so I decided to make pesto chicken fingers with a side of cauliflower and potatoes. I probably should have made a salad, but the potatoes were so tempting.

Finished deliciousness!

Ingredients:

1 whole Chicken breast

½ - 1 cup breadcrumbs (unseasoned)

3 tbs pesto (or to taste)

Salt and pepper

Red pepper flakes to taste

Oil

At the store I bought an entire deboned chicken breast and then sliced it into cutlets. It was more cost efficient and I got to decide how thick to cut the chicken. That being said, you can absolutely purchase sliced chicken.

Once the chicken is sliced, coat with a thick layer of pesto sauce (at some point, I promise I’ll make some from scratch). Spend some time massaging the pesto into the chicken so then it really absorbs the flavors.

In a separate plate, mix the breadcrumbs with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and then dredge the chicken in the mixture. Make sure to coat each piece well.

Pour oil into a large flat pan and heat over a medium flame. When the oil is hot, start carefully placing your chicken into the pan. Cook on each side until golden brown.  They should be cooking for a minimum of 2 minutes on each side if the pieces aren’t too thick. When you remove the chicken from the oil, set aside on a paper towel so the excess oil is absorbed.

Serve warm with a drizzle of pesto on top.

 

Beautiful with a drizzle of pesto on top!

We also ate our chicken with a potato salad made simply with olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper

I wish there had been more color in our sides!

flakes. Then I also had cauliflower for the first time in ages. We boiled it lightly after cutting it into uneven pieces and then tossed it with olive oil, red garlic chunks (slightly different than normal garlic, so I’m going to have to post about it soon), salt and pepper.  It was light and delicious.

Both sides really went well with the pesto chicken fingers because they have such mild, yet delicious flavors.