CHICKEN SCHNITZELS WITH HOMEMADE CHEESE SAUCE

Chicken schnitzels with homemade cheese sauce, roasted baby potatoes butternut and baby marrow in garlic and brown onion soup powder. Delicious and so simple! Use either prepared schnitzels bought from grocer or prepare your own.

Chicken:
4 – 6 prepared schnitzels OR own schnitzels, slightly beaten
2 eggs, whisked for dipping
cake flour, for dipping
bread crumbs or cornflakes crumbs, for dipping
Vegetables:
1 medium fresh butternut, cut into cubes
1 packet fresh baby marrows (6-8 marrows), sliced or cut into rounds
± 12 – 16 baby potatoes cut into halves or quarters depending on size, drizzled with 1 tablespoon olive
oil
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
thyme and salt to taste
1 packet of brown onion soup powder
milk or cream, optional
Cheese sauce:
2 heaped tablespoons (30-45 ml) cake flour/Maizena
2 tablespoons (30 – 45 ml) butter/margarine
200 ml milk
grated cheese (± 60 – 80 g or to taste)
pinch of salt and black or white pepper

Chicken
Preheat oven to 180 – 190 °C. Either bake already crumbed schnitzels in oven for 20-25 min (can put in frozen) OR take the unprocessed chicken fillets, beat slightly, dip in 2 whisked eggs, then once in flour, quite a thick coating, then again in egg, and then in either bread crumbs or cornflakes crumbs.

Vegetables
Mix in baking oven pan: fresh butternut, cut into cubes, fresh marrows sliced or cut into rounds, baby potatoes cut into halves or quarters depending on size, drizzled with olive oil, crushed garlic, thyme and salt. Bake for 1 hour or until vegetables are semi-soft. Mix brown onion soup with a bit of hot water and a little bit of cream or milk (optional) and pour over vegetables. Bake for another 20 – 30 minutes or until vegetables are very soft.

Cheese sauce
Heat up pan, add butter until melted. Once completely melted, turn the heat down slightly and add the flour, stir with fork or whisk briskly until it forms almost a ball shape until flour and butter are nicely combined, slowly start adding milk, keep stirring and keep on semi-low heat, amount of milk depends on thickness desired, add grated cheese and stir again. It is also up to you on the amount of cheese to add; I add a little milk afterwards just to thin out slightly as the sauce thickens quite quickly once off the heat. Add in a pinch of salt and some white or black pepper while stirring.
Serve and enjoy!

Recipe and picture: Jaylene Jay Ansley