Oven-Baked Chicken Tenders With Pineapple-Apricot Salsa
(Serves 4)
It's good to have an instant-read thermometer on hand to gauge the doneness of the chicken - or you can just cut into one piece to tell whether it's cooked through.
Adapted from recipes on the 2Teaspoons.com website and from Simply Irresistible: Easy, Elegant, Fearless, Fussless Cooking, by Sheilah Kaufman
Ingredients
For the chicken
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups bread crumbs
Kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg
1/4 cup whole or low-fat milk
3/4 cup flour
450g thinly sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts
For the salsa
4 fresh pineapple rings
1/2 medium red onion
1/2 small green or red jalapeño pepper
4 red radishes (optional)
6 stems cilantro
1 lime
1/2 cup apricot preserves
Kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
For the chicken:
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees.
Place an ovenproof wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the crumbs and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until golden brown.
Remove from the heat; season (still in the pan) lightly with salt and pepper and let cool.
Whisk together the egg and milk in a wide, shallow bowl until well blended.
Place the flour in a separate, similar bowl.
Use paper towels to pat the chicken dry.
Cut each thin piece lengthwise into 2,5cm-wide strips.
Dip each strip into the egg mixture, then the flour, then into the egg mixture again, then into the buttered bread crumbs; make sure the last coating is thorough.
Place the coated chicken strips on the wire rack.
Once all the chicken is coated, spray it lightly with cooking oil spray.
Roast for 8 to 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (registering 75 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).
Meanwhile, make the salsa, combining the ingredients in a mixing bowl as you work:
Dice the pineapple and finely chop the red onion.
Seed the jalapeño pepper half, then mince it.
Cut the radishes, if using, into small dice.
Coarsely chop the cilantro leaves and some tender stems.
Cut the lime in half, and squeeze in 2 tablespoons of juice.
Add the preserves, then season lightly with salt and pepper, stirring to incorporate.
Serve the chicken warm, with the salsa.