We’re not big cereal eaters at home, but we do occasionally buy a box of our favourite, Mesa Sunrise by Nature’s Path. These wholegrain flakes made from corn, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth and flaxseed are pretty pricey, and they’re definitely a glucose spike-inducing breakfast, but they do offer more nutritional diversity than many other similar products. By the time we get near the end of the box, however, there’s usually a bunch of stale and/or crushed cereal at the bottom, which we sometimes revive by putting them in the residual heat of the oven to make them crisp again, or, for a real treat, we use them to make cornflake chicken, fried or baked, depending on how we feel.
Cornflake fried chicken
This simple, waste-free twist on fried chicken is a great way to use up stale cereal. It’s also much crunchier and more flavourful than breadcrumbs – trust me – and gives your fried chicken a much superior crust (regular cornflakes or even Rice Krispies work well here, too). If you don’t fancy frying the chicken, simply bake it with a drizzle of oil for about 25 minutes, until the core temperature is 75C.
Here’s an extra waste-saving tip: save almost-finished pots of plain yoghurt to marinate meat in. I marinated my chicken in a large yoghurt container, adding the sea salt and spices straight to the pot, and put it in the fridge, saving both yoghurt and on the washing-up.
Serves 2-4
2 chicken drumsticks and two chicken thighs
4 tbsp yoghurt
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp cracked black pepper
2-4 tsp mixed spices (eg, hot paprika, turmeric, garam masala, mustard powder)
2 tbsp self-raising flour
1 egg, beaten
70g crushed cornflakes (roughly two cups)
Oil, for frying
Put the chickenin a sealable container with the yoghurt, salt, black pepper and spices, toss to coat, then put in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to two days – the longer, the better.
When you are ready to cook, put the self-raising flour in a bowl, the beaten egg in a second bowl, and the crushed cornflakes in a third bowl (crush the cornflakes in their bag with a rolling pin or in a mortar or food processor).
Dip each piece of chicken in the flour, coating it evenly, then shake off the excess and coat in the beaten egg. Finally, dredge the chicken in the cornflakes, pressing them on so each one is well coated.
Heat 3cm frying oil in a deep pan to about 180C/350F, then fry the chicken in batches for about five minutes on each side, until golden brown. Transfer to an oven tray and bake the chicken in an oven heated to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 for about 15 minutes, until the core temperature is 75C, then serve hot.
