Gluten Free, Egg Free Chicken Fingers

 

 So, one thing that goes out the door when you are both gluten and egg free, is anything thats ‘breaded’.  You know, chicken fingers, zuchini sticks… all that comfort food, out the door.

However, what I didn’t know, was that certain flours with their starch content (like amaranth), combined with a nut flour (or chickpea), for he natural binding and crunch, work well as a breading… and THEN  I discovered flax eggs.  I figured, hey, lets throw this together and see what happens.  … well, well, well… I feel like I just discovered America!   

 Seriously, this, is epic. Perfect,  Chicken fingers. Or, as its called in my house, Chicken Fetina. *insert happydance*     

On to the recipe! I daren’t impose further daliance on this one.      

 Gluten Free Egg Free Fried Chicken     

Note: To kick up the flavour, you may wish to marinate the chicken over night with lemonjuice/olive oil/ garlic/ rosemary or  oregano.  You may also wish to season the crumb mixture with  oregano or parmesan or chili pepper or with something funky like Montreal Steak Spice. Me?  I just like it plain. Breadcrumbs! Woot! Btw, these make terrific sandwiches with mustard, a little mayo, and fresh basil leaves. yum.      

Ingredients      

• 1 large chicken breast, cut lengthwise into 3 and then each in half
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1/2 cup arrowroot starch
• 1 tbsp ground flax + 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup ground almonds, or almond flour(I use leftovers from this recipe.) (nut free, try using chickpea flour) 
•  1/3 cup amaranth flour
• 1/4 tsp salt (or more to taste)
• fresh black pepper
• lemon wedges, to serve
• olive oil (about 1/2 cup) for frying (use only a few tbsp at a time)

   Directions      

1. Mix the two starches together in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the  flax and water.
3. In a third bowl, mix the amaranth flour, almond flour, and salt plus any other seasonings you want.
4. With a meat mallet, pound the chicken pieces to about 1/2 cm thick, between two sheets of wax paper (unless you like raw chicken guts splattering on your window. eugh.)
5. Dredge in the starch.
6. Dip in the flax and water mixture. (It should coat the chicken thinly-not in large clumps and not super thick.  Add more water as needed.) Right away coat in breadcrumbs.  Your fingers will get full of stuff, just add to the flax mix and add a bit more water.
7. Put the chicken pieces on a plate before you get the pan ready- don’t stack them or they will stick together.
8. Cover the bottom of a frying pan very thinly with olive oil- only 2-3 tbsp. Put on medium-high heat- it will be ready when you drop a crumb in and it sizzles.
9. Add chicken pieces, don’t crowd the pan or it will stew.  Keep about 2cm between pieces. 
10. Turn over only when bottoms dark golden brown. This happens quickly, so keep an eye on them.
11. When gold on both sides, remove from pan and put on paper towel to blot extra oil.
12. You may need to add more oil to the pan for the next batch
13.  Serve with lemon wedges.  Delicious!

    Note: for a less oily version, instead of panfrying the chicken, coat your hands in oil,  pat the chicken pieces with it, place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 in the oven until golden. (you may wish to turn them over once to ensure even cooking)