thursday recipe: crumbed chicken and salsa in pita by Emily Rose Brott

Today's recipe comes from mother of four and cookbook author Emily Rose Brott. I hope you've had a chance to try Emily's mango sorbet recipe from last week. There were actually squabbles in our kitchen last week over who got more in their bowl as we finished off the last of the sorbet, sound familiar? (sighs). Anyway, back to today's recipe, this one also comes from Emily's latest book Healthy Home Cooking for Kids and what I like about it is that it does that clever thing of combining the foods parents want their children to eat (vegetables) with foods that kids want to eat (crumbed chicken). It ticks the healthy, nutritious, tasty and fun boxes. 

For those on a gluten free diet you can substitute the bread crumbs with home made gluten free crumbs made from gf bread, if you've never made your own bread crumbs it is soooo easy just whizz some gf bread up in a food processor or blender and voila you have breadcrumbs. Or, you can use gf ricecrumbs. And in place of the pita you could roll this up in a gf wrap.

What do you think? Think your family will go for this? 

Thanks Emily for sharing your recipe with us, it is much appreciated! Saves us from thinking what to cook!

Healthy Home Cooking for Kids, by Emily Rose Brott. Published by Random House RRP $19.95

Crumbed chicken and salsa in pita

Serves 4

crumbed chicken

2 chicken fillets, butterflied

1 and a half cups wholemeal (wholewheat) breadcrumbs 

1 teaspoon mild paprika

salt

salsa

1 avocado, diced

1 cucumber, peeled and diced

2 tomatoes, diced

1 and a half tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt

4 wholemeal (wholewheat) pitas

mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced.

Slice chicken into nuggets, approximately 4 cm long. Place breadcrumbs, paprika and a pinch of salt in a bowl and mix (for preparation of breadcrumbs, see cooking tips, page 8).

Dip chicken nuggets into breadcrumbs until coated. Line a baking tray with foil and place nuggets on tray.

Cook for 25 minutes.

To prepare salsa, gently combine avocado, cucumber and tomatoes in a bowl. Toss with lemon juice, oil and salt to taste.

To warm pitas, wrap in foil and place in oven for 2 to 3 minutes.

To serve, slice the pitas in half, spread some mayonnaise over the base of the pita, and top with chicken nuggets and salsa.