Fried Chicken Cutlet Bowl

Servings: 4

Total time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS

For the bowls:
1 cup uncooked basmati rice
1 red pepper, sliced thin
1 red onion, sliced thin
1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal Salt Co.^™ Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 cups chopped spinach
1/2 large cucumber, diced
garnish with fresh basil

For the Greek lemon sauce:
juice of one lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal Salt Co.^™ Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp pepper

For the crispy chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved horizontally to make 4 pieces
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal Salt Co.^™ Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp za'taar
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1/4 tsp chili powder
avocado oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

For the bowls
Cook the rice according package directions and set aside.
In a frying pan add 1 tbsp olive oil and turn to medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the sliced pepper and onion, kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Cook for 5-8 minutes until softened. Set aside.
Prep the spinach and cucumber and set aside.
For the Greek lemon sauce
Make the lemon sauce: whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, Greek yogurt, dried oregano, garlic cloves, kosher salt and pepper. Set aside in the fridge.
For the crispy chicken
Slice the chicken breasts in half. Then add a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap to a cutting board, add a piece of the chicken and cover it with another piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken breasts to about ½ inch thickness. Season each piece of chicken well with kosher salt and pepper and set aside.

Make the breading: in a shallow bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, za’taar, chili flakes and chili powder. In another bowl whisk the egg and set aside.
Bread the chicken by dipping pieces of chicken one at a time in the whisked egg and letting any excess egg drip off. Then dunk into the breadcrumbs mixture, pressing gently to adhere the breadcrumbs to each side of the chicken breasts. Add each breaded chicken breast to a parchment lined sheet pan or plate.
To a large frying pan add avocado oil about 1/4 inch. Turn to medium-high heat. When hot, turn to medium heat and shallow fry 2 chicken filets at a time for 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through to 165F when read on an instant read thermometer. Remove the chicken to a paper towel lined plate and fry the next batch of two chicken filets. Sprinkle the tops of the four cooked chicken filets with a bit of kosher salt and then chop into pieces for the bowls.

Assemble the bowls
Once the chicken is cooked, assemble the bowls by layering cooked rice, chopped chicken, chopped spinach, cooked peppers and onions and cucumber. Drizzle the lemon Greek sauce over the bowl, garnish with fresh basil and then enjoy!