Chicken Breasts with Smoked Salmon and Asparagus

In these worrying days of pandemic, one of life's special pleasures for us is preparing and eating fine food. A few weeks ago it was my birthday. I could have celebrated at a favourite Greek or Italian restaurant, but chose instead to stay home for a hitherto untried recipe from the hand of Master Chef Ann Long. 

Many years have passed since I last had the pleasure of dining at Ann's restaurant, but her recipes live on, thanks to her excellent book Ann Long's Dinner Party Book. I've already described one of Ann's recipes in this blog – Chicken Breasts cooked in Puff Pastry. 

My copy cost £12.95, back in 1988. Today you could pick up a new copy from Amazon for £3.27, or a second-hand one for as little as £1. Were I ever to lose mine, I'd willingly pay a lot more than that!

The easiest way to follow this recipe would undoubtedly be to get a copy of Ann's book, but I'll do my best to guide you through the steps. You'll need the following ingredients for each person:

1 skinned chicken breast
1 wafer-thin slice of salmon, about 4 inches square
2 small asparagus stems

And for the coating:

flour
fine breadcrumbs
1 egg

Brush a large sheet of clingfilm with water, lay a chicken breast on it, fold the clingfilm over the top, then beat the breast with a rolling pin until the chicken is about ¼ inch thick. Believe me, this is great fun, but don't get carried away and beat it too hard.  When you've finished, remove and discard the clingfilm.

Lay the salmon and asparagus on top of each chicken breast, then roll up from the asparagus end, tucking in the sides as you go.

It's at this point that I know I'll never make Master Chef – or indeed any sort of chef. I'm sure that Ann Long's looked exquisite; mine looked rather less tidy, especially when held together with cocktail sticks. If yours look like mine, don't worry! It's all going to work out fine.

It's now time to make a breadcrumb coating. You could simply buy some breadcrumbs (though not golden ones that are intended for fish) but it really isn't hard to make your own if you possess a food processor.  Two thick slices of bread in the top, wizz them for a while and - hay presto - perfect breadcrumbs. 

Break an egg into a bowl, add some flour and a little water, then wisk with a fork. I'm sure you can work out the quantities for youself.  Put the breadcrumbs in a second bowl.

Roll the breasts in the flour mixture...

... then in the breadcrumbs, and then in your hands to squeeze out the air. It's glouriously sticky, but very satisfying when the breasts are fully coated in breadcrumbs.   

Leave the coating to dry for at least an hour, then put a generous amount of oil in a frying pan and bring up to sizzling temperature. Cook for 8 minutes, turning regularly.

After removing the cocktail sticks, we served the chicken portions whole. Ann preferred to slice each portion into 5 wedges, and I think I know why.  As well as looking artistic, slicing ensures that no cocktail sticks remain hidden in the meat – an important consideration when ones guests are paying to dine. I had one stick lurking in mine, but had no-one to blame but myself.