donna hay's Grilled Chicken Schnitzel with Fennel Slaw from Fast, Fresh, Simple.

'What's that?'
'Fennel'
'How are you going to cook it?'
'I'm not'
'oh.'
'Whats wrong?'
'Doesn't fennel need to be cooked?'
'Nope, its a salad'
'It's very... aniseedy'
'It'll be nice, trust me'
'Hmm ok'

That was how dinner started off.

I decided this week to try baking a chicken dish for dinner that didn't take over an hour when it says it only takes 20 minutes. This one actually only took 20 minutes like the recipe said and it was so easy with minimal washing up. I chose donna hay's Grilled Chicken Schnitzel with Fennel Slaw from her book 'Fast, 'Fresh, Simple' it also has a great TV show to go with the cookbook showing how simple things really are to cook but look incredibly amazing. I love when a cookbook has a TV show to go along with it, I could watch cooking shows all day.

The fennel slaw was what caused all the questions. I kind of knew it would but thought that this whole blog is to try new things. I love fennel, raw or cooked but I knew Tristan had a little aversion to it raw but knowing donna's recipes I knew I was in good hands. And worse comes to worse I end up with all the salad... I wasn't complaining.

The chicken was super quick and easy. There was no flattening the chicken out, flouring it, dunking it in egg then breadcrumbs. It was as easy as put the slices of bread, butter, fresh thyme and some slat and pepper in a food processor and blitz. Top the chicken breasts with the mix and bake for 20min. This idea has me thinking. You could do so many combinations.... parsley, chilli, garlic, rosemary, parmesan, extra virgin olive oil, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon, crumbly feta, basil, pine nuts, peanuts, coriander... you could chop and change the ingredients around and come up with different bread crumb toppings and never have to fuss over chicken schnitzels again.

I only wish mine looked like it did in the book, I really struggled with trying to give this justice... I need better light (no eco-friendly lights), a better camera (maybe one that isn't just my iphone), a new kitchen bench (bright blue is a little jarring in the back ground) and some knowledge on how to style properly. Other than that...

This is how the meal ended...

'This is really nice'
'I know'
'It's so fresh and the parsley works really well too'
'I told you it'd be nice'
'It's better than cabbage coleslaw...we can do this again'
'I know'

A success at trying something new.

It was exactly what the book said it would be. Fast, Fresh and Simple. Only missed off one word.... SCRUMPTIOUS!

(If you click the link on the recipe title you can see Donna make this dish on youtube)

Grilled Chicken Schnitzel with Fennel Slaw by Donna Hay from Fast, Fresh, Simple.

serves 2
(recipe adapted slightly)

For the Grilled Chicken Schnitzel:
3 slices of white bread, cubed
50g butter, cubed
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper
2 chicken breasts
lemon wedges, to serve

- Put bread, butter, thyme leaves, salt and pepper in a food processor and blitz until it looks like crumbs.
- Arrange on top of chicken breasts on a baking tray and bake in a 180 degrees celsius for 20min or until chicken is cooked through. Serve with Fennel Slaw.

For the Fennel Slaw:
1 bulb fennel, finely sliced (I used a mandolin)
2 tbsp chives, chopped
1/4 flat leaf parsley leaves
2 tbsp mayonaise
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water

- Mix fennel, chives and parsley in a bowl together.
- To make dressing put mayonnaise, lemon juice and water in a small jar and give it a good shake until it's all combined.
- Pour over salad and combine well. Serve with Grilled Chicken Schnitzel.