Chicken Schnitzel with Potato Salad

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, halved and pounded thin
• 50g plain gluten-free flour (for dredging)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 120g gluten-free breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 4 tbsp garlic-infused oil (for frying)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 800g baby potatoes, halved
• 75g mayonnaise
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp sliced chives (green tops only)
• 2 tbsp rinsed capers
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 100g mixed salad leaves

Method

1. Tip the halved potatoes into a pan of cold, generously salted water — it should taste like the sea — bring to the boil and simmer for 12–15 minutes until a knife slides in cleanly. Drain and leave to steam-dry for a few minutes; still warm, holding their shape, no surface water clinging on.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, Dijon, lemon juice, chives and rinsed capers. Tip the warm potatoes in straight away and fold gently — warm spuds drink the dressing in, cold ones just wear it. Season with salt and pepper, taste, and adjust now. They should look glossy and properly coated.
3. Season the pounded chicken generously with sea salt and pepper on both sides before it goes anywhere near the crumb. Set up three plates: flour on the first, beaten eggs in a shallow bowl, and the breadcrumbs tossed with the smoked paprika on the third. Toast the paprika into the crumbs by rubbing it through with your fingertips for a few seconds — it bloomed spices that taste of themselves; raw paprika on the crust just tastes dusty.
4. Dredge each schnitzel in flour and shake off the excess, dip through the egg and let it drip, then press firmly into the paprika crumbs so they cling on both sides. Rest the coated pieces on a tray for 5 minutes — this is what gives you that proper shattering crust rather than a coating that slides off in the pan.
5. Heat the garlic-infused oil in a large stainless or cast-iron frying pan over a medium–high heat until it shimmers — a stray crumb should sizzle on contact. Fry the schnitzels two at a time, no more; crowd the pan and the temperature drops, the crust goes pale, and the chicken steams instead of crisping.
6. Cook for 3–4 minutes each side until deeply golden and crisp, 75°C at the thickest point. They should feel firm and springy under a finger, not squashy. Lift onto kitchen paper for 30 seconds to drain.
7. Taste the potato salad one more time — a final pinch of salt, a crack of pepper, maybe another small squeeze of lemon if it's gone shy. Adjust now, not at the table.
8. Plate the schnitzels next to a generous heap of the mustardy potato salad, pile the salad leaves alongside, scatter extra snipped chives over the lot, and tuck a lemon wedge in for squeezing over the crust at the table.