Serves 4
Prep: 30 min (plus 30 min chilling)
Cook: 20 min
Ingredients
For the garlic butter:
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3 garlic cloves
150g soft butter
3 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 small lemon
For the main dish:
4 chicken supremes, or skinned chicken breasts with stumpy wing bone attached
6 tbsp flour
3 eggs
150g fresh white breadcrumbs
Sunflower or peanut oil
8 flourishing sprigs of parsley
Clingfilm and kitchen paper
Method
Begin with the garlic butter. Crack the garlic with your fist, flake away the skin and halve lengthways. Chop, sprinkle with salt and use the flat of a knife to crush to a paste. Mix the garlic into the butter with the parsley and a squeeze of lemon. Cover and chill.
Use a small, sharp knife to remove the small fillet (see far left). Place between two large sheets of clingfilm and use a rolling pin to gently but firmly double the size. Repeat with the main fillet. Lay the four main fillets in a small oven tray lined with clingfilm. Have the flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs in three separate shallow bowls. Use a pastry brush to paint the large fillets with beaten egg. Sprinkle a little flour where the little fillet used to reside and smudge with your finger. Place a tablespoon of garlic butter over the smudge. Swipe the small fillet through the flour, shaking off excess, then through the egg and lay it over the butter. Fold the sides of the main fillet over to seal. Place the tray in the freezer for 30 min.
Carefully swipe a supreme through the flour, then egg, making sure all surfaces are covered, then coat with breadcrumbs, pressing with your fingertips to make sure it is thoroughly covered. Chill in the fridge (covered if for longer than 30 min). Heat the oil in a deep fryer or to a depth of 2cm in a saut? pan. When a scrap of bread turns golden brown, the temperature is correct. Begin by frying the parsley. Watch out: it splatters furiously and takes only a few seconds. Rest on a fold of kitchen paper to drain and crisp. To cook the chicken, carefully slip two supremes into the oil and fry for 10 min. If using a saut? pan, cook for 10 min a side. Lift on to kitchen paper to drain. Keep warm in a low oven on a wire rack. Serve with a lemon wedge, the crisp parsley, potatoes of your choice and cucumber relish.