Tuesday 22 February 2011

Finger Licking Crispy Chicken

Finger Licking Crispy Chicken
 While researching this post, I started looking into what fast foods South African's love the most. According to Grow South Africa, KFC is South Africa’s biggest quick service restaurant brand.

This is great news if you own KFC stocks or a KFC Franchise, but it is certainly not good news for South Africa's growing obesity problems. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) did an independent survey which showed that 61% of South African's are either over-weight, obese or morbidly obese.  


More shockingly was that the GSK survey found 52% of the morbidly obese people thought that they were "somewhat health or healthy" and that 47% have no health concerns whatsoever.

To add to the problem of growing obesity, we are including our children in the lifestyle of unhealthy living, with 17% of children between the ages of one and nine already being classified as obese.  For some parents it's more about ignorance, as 23% of parents have no idea what their children eat during the day.

Here is the source for the above information via Health 24

Sadly this all boils down to, as a nation we seem to think we're healthier than we are.

All seems like bad news, but the survey did find that in our tough economical climate 87% of South Africans still eat a home cooked meal. 

Fast food is attractive, it's well packaged and marketed, millions of Rands are spent in advertising aimed especially at children. That being said it is expensive and filled with empty calories, loaded with salt, fats and preservatives, all which make it tasty and in some cases even addictive. This doesn't count the "free" frizzy drink that comes included, to wash down all that finger licking "goodness".

The solution? We need to empower ourselves with recipes and food choices that are quick to prepare, do not require expensive or hard to find ingredients. Best of all would be if most of the ingredients can be bought well in advance, for those days when time is at it's most precious. 

This recipe I have for you, is certainly a finger licking family treat. It is quick to prepare and all the ingredients you can have in your pantry, fridge or freezer well in advance.


Finger Licking Crispy Chicken
Serves 4

4 Chicken Breasts sliced lenghwize into quarters
½ cup of Plain Flour for Dredging
1 Cup of Fine Breadcrumbs for coating
6 Teaspoons of
Pesto Princess Olive Tapenade (or any good quality olive tapenade)

2 Teaspoons Olive Oil
4 Teaspoons Butter

Mixed Green Salad leaves to serve.

Dip the chicken into the flour, shake off the excess
Coat the chicken pieces with 4 teaspoons of the tapenade
Coat the chicken with bread crumbs and allow to rest in the fridge for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile heat a non-stick pan over medium heat.
Add the oil and the butter until butter is starting to bubble.
Add the chicken pieces to the pan and fry until golden brown, turning only once.
The chicken does not take long to coat, so be careful not to over cook, 
or the chicken will dry out.
Drain the chicken on kitchen paper and serve on a bed of washed salad leaves and
topped with a little extra tapenade (the reserved 2 teaspoons).
This is great served with warm crispy rolls and coleslaw.

10 comments:

Nina Timm said...

I lovethe minimalistic look of these photos Rose. You are well on your way to become a pro at taking lipsmackingly good photos!!

Dirk said...

Sobering thoughts and a great recipe!

Homemade Heaven said...

@nina Thanks so much. I really am going to try harder with my styling and photography. You only get expect greatness if your work hard towards it.
Thanks again for Sunday's presentation, you always teach me so much.

Homemade Heaven said...

@Dirk Thanks - I think if we make people more aware, we can make a difference.

Pesto Princess said...

WONDERFUL recipe, and health focus! Thank you so much for including Pesto Princess in such a positive post!
And we agree; your photo's are excellent!

Homemade Heaven said...

@ Pesto Princess. Thank you for the wonderful goodies. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to meet you and try your great product. Certainly will have them in my shopping basket from now on.

Anonymous said...

Sounds lovely, but after the article the recipe is attached to, it would be nice to see the calorie count (and protein/fat/salt/etc) per serving.

Indigogirl said...

Rose, it looks so delicious - if I could lick my screen I would. Thanks for the inspiration for tomorrow nights supper :)

Kit said...

Homemade fried chicken is so much nicer than KFC anyway! My kids love home-made chicken nuggets, which i make occasionally and I'm sure would enjoy these!
So sorry not to be at the fbc this year. i missed you all!

Marisa said...

I will confess I love KFC, but I only indulge in it on the rare occasion (think twice a year maybe) because of the ridiculous fat content. So happy to find a way to indulge (semi) guilt-free now!

PS: Love the use of pesto here
PPS: ADORE your wooden blog background - very pretty.

Jeremiah 17: 7-8

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water."

It is not your business to succeed, but to do what is right : when you have done so, the rest lies with God.
C.S. Lewis

Search This Blog

South African Food and Wine Blogger Directory

The South African Food and Wine Blogger Directory

Foodista

Followers

Labels