Brett’s Chicken

No collection of our family’s recipes would be complete without “Brett’s Chicken” or, as we call it in Hebrew at home “Ha-Of shel Brett”.  This recipe became an instant favorite with our kids, when we were in Los Angeles; we were spending the year in LA while Dani was on sabbatical at UCLA. We were invited, together with the kids, to one of Dani’s colleagues. Brett, for dinner. Brett was very brave to invite us to his home for dinner with our lively sons. Our sons would very typically play “frisbee” at the dinner table – sometimes with grapes, sometimes with a ball, and sometimes using each other as a frisbee…! I was relieved when I saw them all enjoying  the breaded chicken cubes that Brett served – they were enjoying it so much that they actually had no time for the usual  lively Galai antics…..

Brett’s chicken immediately became a favorite among the boys; as they grew up, they continued to ask me to prepare it, when they came home from school trips or later, when they returned home from the army.

Now that our family is divided between two continents, I think that Brett’s chicken has once again reached the American shores, this time being prepared on the East Coast, in New York.  And of course our local family here in Jerusalem continues to enjoy this simple dish, just as they did when they were kids.

Ingredients

• chicken breast(s) – boned and skinned – cut into 3 cm (approx. 1 1/3 inch) cubes.
• plain bread crumbs – generous amount
• dried thyme – generous amount
• sweet paprika
• garlic powder
• salt
• pepper
• dried oregano
• lemon juice – generous amount
• canola oil for frying – this recipe does NOT call for deep frying, but you should still use a generous amount of oil so that the chicken will not be dry.

Preparation

1. Cut the chicken breasts into 3 cm (1 1/3 inch) cubes
2. Put into large bowl.
3. To the chicken cubes in bowl add bread crumbs, dried thyme, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, dried oregano (all the dry ingredients). Mix with large wooden (or silicone) spoon until all the chicken cubes are well coated.
4. At this point, it is advisable, if time allows, to place the coated chicken in the refrigerator for up to a few hours. This helps bind the bread crumbs and spices to the chicken cubes.
5. In large non-stick frying pan, heat a generous amt of canola or corn oil.
6. Add all the coated chicken cubes to hot oil, and start frying,   carefully turning pieces over so that all sides are a nice, deep golden brown color.
7. When chicken is almost ready, sprinkle a generous amount of lemon juice on it, while still in pan. For this I often lazily use the bottled Sicilia (or any other brand) lemon juice. Or, of course you can squeeze real lemons.
8. The chicken should be nice and lemony, and a very nice deep golden brown color.
9. Taste and if necessary, add more salt, lemon juice and/or thyme, if necessary.
10. Serve.