Author: Newfie

California Chicken Sandwich

California Chicken Sandwich

I found out this year that Gordon Ramsay has become a triathlete, and has produced Ultimate Fit Food: Mouth-watering Recipes to Fuel Your Life.  I’ve been a fan of Gordon Ramsay since watching Hell’s Kitchen back when I was in university. Since moving to Doha, I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy meals in his restaurants on special occasions over the years.

I’ve also got a lot of Gordon Ramsay cookbooks, and overall some of my favourite recipes have come from those pages. Ramsay definitely has an abrasive persona on Hell’s Kitchen, and some downright ridiculous feuds, such as the back and forth with Jamie Oliver. However,  his youtube videos and UK TV shows display his knowledge and passion for food and make for excellent instructional viewing.

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California Chicken Sandwich

 

Ingredients
  • 4 whole wheat buns, sliced in half and toasted
  • 1 ripe avocado, peeled, stoned, and sliced
  • 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, shredded
  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 150 g puffed rice (I used 150 g of Rice Krispies)
  • 50 g wholemeal flour (I used 50 g of regular white flour)
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 200 ml buttermilk
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 4 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp dried sage
Yogurt Dressing
  • 75 ml Greek yogurt
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed (I used a garlic press)
  • 1 tsp cider vinegar
  • salt and pepper, small amounts

 

If you aren’t in the mood for burgers, just cut up each chicken breast into about six pieces and disregard the sandwich ingredients to make chicken nuggets. The yogurt dressing makes a great dipping sauce.

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Put the flour, buttermilk, and rice into three separate bowls. Crush the rice crispies in your hand to break down the pieces, but don’t crush them completely. You don’t want them reduced to powder.  Add the garlic powder, onion powder, sage and paprika to the buttermilk and mix well. Mix some salt and pepper into the flour.

Dip the chicken breasts into the flour and roll them around. Then dip them in the buttermilk and let the excess drip off the breast. Roll the breasts around in the Rice Krispies until they’re completely coated and place them on a baking pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, turning the breasts over at the halfway point.

While waiting for the chicken prepare the yogurt dressing by mixing the ingredients.  Taste and add more vinegar or salt if needed.

Add lettuce followed by the sliced avocado to the bottom bun. Once the chicken is finished, place it on the avocado and top it with a dollop of dressing. Close the buns and enjoy!