Food: Ben’s Chicken Schnitzel
I’m pleased. I lasted two whole weeks before crumbling to excess.
Yes, fine, I ate like a pig last night. I think it was all just Too Much for us both this week, and we needed food to comfort. Also, I went to visit my mum on Friday, and she gave me cake, and well… Sigh.
So, to make sure SOMETHING positive comes out of last night’s foodie debauchery, I share with you Ben’s recipe for chicken schnitzel.
You will need:
- Two packs of breaded chicken goujons
- A loaf of white bread (the unsliced kind)
- A head of lettuce
- A bunch of spring onions
- Mayo
- Ketchup
- Mustard
Let the madness begin:
- Put your goujons under the grill. ALL of them. Yes, I know it says on the packet to put them in the oven, but they don’t get nice and crispy that way. Trust me on this. A medium-high heat for 5-7 mins either side should do it. Keep an eye on them and use your judgement.
- Meanwhile, slice half of your spring onions and half of your lettuce nice and fine.
- Put the spring onion and lettuce into a bowl, and mix in a mixture of mayo, ketchup and mustard until it holds together. You really have to just use your judgement on this one – Ben made it a little too mustardy for my liking, but it was still awesome. As long as it’s not too sloppy, you can’t go wrong.
- Next, cut your loaf of bread clean in half, and hollow it out. No, really. Do what you like with the centre of the bread. Maybe whizz it up into bread crumbs for homemade fish cakes – this is really good for later in the week, when you realise the error of your ways and resort back to a healthy diet (my plan).
- Time to get filling! Your goujons should be done by now. We had enough goujons to do three layers. I advise you do it like this: lie three goujons flat on the bottom of the bread-crater, use a quarter of your salad to form a salad layer, then goujons, then salad, then top it off with goujons. Good luck getting your mouth around the damned thing.
- Eat.
- Regret.
Food: Le Pain Quotidien
Le Pain Quotidien: The Daily Bread. This is (with toppings) what they serve. It’s not cheap, at all, but it is lovely. And you know what? It’s not French. Nono, it’s BELGIAN. Yes, it surprised me a little bit too.
I was in South Kensington on Thursday, and had arrived earlier than anticipated. I had to kill time before Angharad arrived, and I was hungry, so I just randomly picked LPQ to eat my lunch at. I was pretty stunned at the prices (not in a good way) but decided to forgo a coffee (to save pennies) and have a glass of tap water instead. This way, I could order my lunch and pretend the bill was normal.
I decided to go for one of their signature tartines – essentially an open sandwich. I liked the look of the egg salad tartine (with capers and anchovies – salty loveliness) and it was the kindest to my wallet too, so double win.
Oh yes, it was pretty, and it was tasty, but I have to say I was frankly a little disappointed with the portion size, considering 1) the price and 2) that this was a Belgian bistro, not a French one (please refer to my comments on Belgian food at Edible Glitter). Also, I wish that they had equipped me with some kind of serrated knife: whilst the wholemeal bread was lovely (and remember: their name means “the daily bread” – they pride themselves on their bread) the crust was very hard and therefore a nightmare to cut.
That said, it was incredibly tasty: the salty anchovies and capers gave the egg a nice kick, and there was a lovely balance of toppings. I only wish that it wasn’t 470 calories, which I didn’t know until LPQ website threw that in my face only minutes ago.
LPQ’s are all over the place – check their website for you nearest one, and pop in for a treat. They also have coffees and breads to take away!
