Chicken Schnitz with Walnut Yoghurt and Tabbouleh

Taking inspiration from a beautiful dish that I had at one of my favourite restaurants (Mangal 2 in Dalston)- a yoghurt based dip situation with garlic, courgette and walnuts going through it. It goes so well with a beautiful crispy bit of chicken coated in breadcrumbs and sesame seeds. The zingy little salad ties everything together nicely, packed with lemon juice and parsley and mint. You will enjoy this one so much that you might explode.

About an hour

Ingredients

For the Yoghurt
A handful of walnuts
3 Tablespoons Strained Yoghurt (Labneh or Greek Yoghurt will work)
2 Cloves Garlic
A Small Courgette
Tablespoon Olive Oil

For the Tabbouleh
About 3 inches of a Cucumber
A tomato
A massive, massive bunch of parsley, possibly 2
A handful of fresh mint leaves
Juice of a Lemon
Tablespoon of Olive Oil
A clove of garlic

For the Schnitzel
2 chicken breasts
An egg
200g flour
200g breadcrumbs
Black pepper
Salt
2 Teaspoons Smoked Paprika
Tablespoon Black Sesame Seeds
Tablespoon White Sesame Seeds
A good glug ofVegetable Oil

Ingredients

Instructions

Grate your courgette with the big side of a box grater. Grate your garlic too, you can use the smaller part of a box grater, or just smash it up. Fry in a little olive oil until everything is nice and soft. Season with salt and pepper. As this all fries, crumble/dice up your walnuts. Stick your cooked courgettes and walnuts together in a bowl and set aside.
Finely dice your cucumber and tomato and stick it in a sieve with a couple of pinches of salt mixed in. Let the water dribble out. Pop it over a bowl or the sink or something. Stick your parsley, mint and garlic clove in a food processor and blitz until everything is chopped up.Don’t chuck away the stalks, they’re full of flavour.
Throw away whatever moisture has come off the tomatoes and cucumber, squeeze a little out if you must. Mix with your herbs, olive oil, the juice of a whole lemon and a little salt and pepper.
Prepare a breading station. You need a bowl of flour with some salt, pepper and a tablespoon of paprika in it. You need a bowl with a whisked egg in it. You need a plate, yes a plate, with your breadcrumbs on it. Mix your sesame seeds and a paprika with the breadcrumbs. Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper. If you’re feeling fruity, grate in some parmesan.
Stick a layer of clingfilm on your work surface, pop your chicken breasts on it as flat as possible, another layer of clingfilm on top and then smash down with something heavy like a pan or a chopping board. You want these as flat as possible.
Coat your chicken piece in egg, making sure its fully covered. Then coat in flour, again making sure its properly covered. Get your vegetable oil nice and hot and fry for about 3-4 minutes, turning at half time until its nice and golden. It’ll continue cooking a bit once you’ve finished frying. Place on a plate/chopping board. Repeat for however many you’re cooking for.
Stir your strained yoghurt into your courgette walnut mix. Serve a dollop of that on a plate, with a dollop of tabbouleh and a nice delicious schnitzel. Try not to wee your pants in delight.