La Botilleria-inspired Breaded Chicken
You won't go hungry in Granada wandering around the streets between the midday lunch hours and evening tapa opening hours because while most places shut for the siesta, La Botillería in the trendy Realejo neighbourhood stays open serving raciones and tapas all day long.
Enjoy a slider and chips for your first tapa and it just keeps getting better from there. However, for those among us not satisfied with a 'little' tapa here and there, they serve a mean breaded chicken salad which we've adapted here to our own tastes - adding a fresh yoghurt and avocado salad of celery and green apple to pair with the warm chicken and topped with a delicious homemade pesto sauce. You'll turn to this one when you need an injection of extreme taste and freshness in your life.
Enjoy a slider and chips for your first tapa and it just keeps getting better from there. However, for those among us not satisfied with a 'little' tapa here and there, they serve a mean breaded chicken salad which we've adapted here to our own tastes - adding a fresh yoghurt and avocado salad of celery and green apple to pair with the warm chicken and topped with a delicious homemade pesto sauce. You'll turn to this one when you need an injection of extreme taste and freshness in your life.
What we're aiming for:
2 generous servings of breaded chicken (probably with leftovers)
1 large salad to share
Enough pesto to drizzle on top
2 generous servings of breaded chicken (probably with leftovers)
1 large salad to share
Enough pesto to drizzle on top
The Salad:
The Components:
The Algorithm:
- Take a decent sized salad bowl and mix together the avocado, yoghurt, basil, shallot and lemon juice.
- Add a two pinches of salt and pepper.
- Now add in the apple strips, the celery strips and nuts.
- Mix together until everything is coated with your dressing.
- Season to taste.
- 3 sticks of celery, sliced into thin strips about 10 cm long
- 1 granny smith apple cut into thin strips
- 1 avocado, ripe enough to mash into the dish
- ¼ cup of greek yoghurt
- 1 tablespoon of finely chopped shallot (we find 1 shallot works just fine)
- A few handfuls of rocket
- ¼ cup of chopped basil
- ½ cup of hazelnuts (or walnuts, whichever you prefer)
- Plenty of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Juice of half a lemon
- Olive oil
The Algorithm:
- Take a decent sized salad bowl and mix together the avocado, yoghurt, basil, shallot and lemon juice.
- Add a two pinches of salt and pepper.
- Now add in the apple strips, the celery strips and nuts.
- Mix together until everything is coated with your dressing.
- Season to taste.
The Pesto
The Components:
The Algorithm:
- Take the finely chopped basil leaves (and stems) and bash in a pestle and mortar until pulpy
- Add the pine nuts and garlic to the mixture and bash up again
- Spoon out into a small bowl
- Add a good glug of your extra virgin olive oil, the juice of the lemon and the grated parmesan
- Mix together with a teaspoon and season to taste
- One bunch of basil - a good sized handful
- One garlic clove - finely chopped
- A handful of lightly toasted pine nuts
- Parmesan cheese - enough to grate two good sized pinches
- Juice of half a lemon
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil (as good a quality as possible)
The Algorithm:
- Take the finely chopped basil leaves (and stems) and bash in a pestle and mortar until pulpy
- Add the pine nuts and garlic to the mixture and bash up again
- Spoon out into a small bowl
- Add a good glug of your extra virgin olive oil, the juice of the lemon and the grated parmesan
- Mix together with a teaspoon and season to taste
The Breaded Chicken:
The Components:
*We like to make bread crumbs by toasting chunks of any leftover slightly stale baguette in the oven. Once slightly browned and crispy, pop into the food processor with a bit of Maldon salt, dried thyme and a few cranks of cracked black pepper.
The Algorithm:
- Pour the olive oil into a medium sized bowl (that can take all the chicken and easily let you stir it with ease)
- Mince the garlic clove into the oil and mix in
- Prep another medium sized bowl with the bread crumbs ready for coating the chicken
- Toss the chicken chunks or strips in the olive oil mixture and mix around to completely cover the surfaces
- Put a few oiled chunks at a time into the breadcrumb mixture and make sure they’re fully coated with breadcrumbs too
- Set a frying pan on medium high heat (you might want to have a splash guard at the ready) and fry the chicken, ensuring each side cooks for about 2-3 minutes, browning the surfaces nicely (I like to check at this point if the thickest piece of chicken is cooked through, with no pink inside)
- Once fully cooked, transfer the chicken chunks onto a side dish to cool slightly and let the excess oils drain before serving
- Two chicken breasts sliced into thin strips (or any form you prefer)
- Olive oil for coating the chicken
- Seasoned bread crumbs*
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and ready to be minced into the dish
*We like to make bread crumbs by toasting chunks of any leftover slightly stale baguette in the oven. Once slightly browned and crispy, pop into the food processor with a bit of Maldon salt, dried thyme and a few cranks of cracked black pepper.
The Algorithm:
- Pour the olive oil into a medium sized bowl (that can take all the chicken and easily let you stir it with ease)
- Mince the garlic clove into the oil and mix in
- Prep another medium sized bowl with the bread crumbs ready for coating the chicken
- Toss the chicken chunks or strips in the olive oil mixture and mix around to completely cover the surfaces
- Put a few oiled chunks at a time into the breadcrumb mixture and make sure they’re fully coated with breadcrumbs too
- Set a frying pan on medium high heat (you might want to have a splash guard at the ready) and fry the chicken, ensuring each side cooks for about 2-3 minutes, browning the surfaces nicely (I like to check at this point if the thickest piece of chicken is cooked through, with no pink inside)
- Once fully cooked, transfer the chicken chunks onto a side dish to cool slightly and let the excess oils drain before serving
And Finally...
- Place a handful of rocket on each plate
- Add a few spoonfuls of the celery and apple salad on top
- Carefully place four chicken strips on top of the salad
- Place a teaspoon of pesto on the very top then drizzle with the olive oil all over
Now dig in and enjoy!
- Add a few spoonfuls of the celery and apple salad on top
- Carefully place four chicken strips on top of the salad
- Place a teaspoon of pesto on the very top then drizzle with the olive oil all over
Now dig in and enjoy!
A nice crisp white wine goes perfectly with this salad while you soak up the sun's rays. Better yet, pop the components into takeaway containers and bring on a picnic - with the white wine, sitting on a blanket wherever you are in the world, this fancy salad will be the talk of the picnic!