The kicker to this recipe is to marinate the chicken overnight in a honey mustard dressing. Instead of discarding the marinade, you savor it like gold and keep every last drop in the bottom of the pan while the chicken cooks. The crumbs melt into the mustard sauce, making this dish sing. Complexity can be overrated—many of the best simple recipes, like this one, are the most requested.

Directions

For the Tangy Mustard Vinaigrette

The test of a great recipe is if it’s one that you keep coming back to over and over again. In my household, this dressing is our fallback. You can prepare it either by hand or in a blender, which makes it easy to whip up in minutes. Keep a jar of this vinaigrette in your fridge, and you’ll have no excuse not to assemble a quick salad for lunch. Makes about 1 cup

1. In a blender or a medium bowl, mix together honey mustard, vinegar, chives, ginger, soy sauce, garlic, and salt.

2. Slowly blend or whisk in the oil to emulsify.

3. Keeps, refrigerated, up to four days.

For the Unfried Chicken Schnitzel

1. Marinate the chicken in the vinaigrette directly in the baking dish, refrigerated, overnight or up to 24 hours. Alternatively, to save space in the fridge, marinate it in a Ziploc bag—but don’t discard the marinade, you’ll pour it into the pan with the chicken before roasting.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Season the cornflake crumbs with salt and pepper.

4. Place about one cup of the crumbs in a shallow bowl or plate. Coat the chicken pieces in the crumbs, then return them to the pan with the marinade. Replenish the crumbs as needed. Make sure each chicken piece is well covered.

5. Bake the chicken for 40 to 50 minutes. Start checking at the 35-minute mark: Prick the chicken to see if the juices run clear and it’s cooked through.

Tips:

· Don’t skimp on the flavor infusion achieved by marinating the chicken overnight.

· You can either buy a box of Kellogg’s cornflake crumbs or (what I usually do because I often can’t find ready-made crumbs) crush a box of cornflakes in a food processor or by hand—just put them in a Ziploc bag and crush away. A rolling pin is a good tool for this task. This is a great way to involve your kids in meal prep. Don’t forget to season the crumbs to taste.

Notes:

This dish can be made a day in advance and reheated, uncovered, just before serving. If making in advance, underbake the chicken by a few minutes so that it remains moist after reheating the next day.

About

Recipe excerpted from Food You Want for the Life You Crave by Nealy Fischer, the Flexible Chef (De Capo Lifelong Books, 2019). Reproduced with permission.