Nutty Fried Chicken with Smashed Sweet Potatoes and Milk Gravy
Nutty Fried Chicken is a fresh take on southern fried chicken. Coated in panko crumbs and ground mixed nuts and served over creamy mashed sweet potatoes.
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Southern
Prep Time 1 hourhour
Cook Time 1 hourhour
Total Time 2 hourshours
Servings 4
Author Christin Mahrlig
Ingredients
4boneless,skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2cupsbuttermilk
1 1/2cupspanko crumbs
1 1/2cupsroasted and salted mixed nuts
2cupscanola oil
Smashed Sweet Potatoes
3medium sweet potatoes,peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
1tablespoonfirmly packed brown sugar
1tablespoonpure maple syrup
4tablespoonsbutter,cut into cubes
1/3cupheavy cream
1/2teaspoonsalt
1/4teaspoonblack pepper
1/4teaspooncayenne pepper
Milk Gravy
2tablespoonsbutter
1/4cupall-purpose flour
2cupswhole milk
1/2teaspoonsalt
1/2teaspoonblack pepper
1/8teaspooncayenne pepper
Instructions
Marinate the chicken in the buttermilk for 1-2 hours. Skip below to proceed with sweet potatoes and gravy while the chicken marinates.
Use a food processor to grind the panko crumbs and nuts until finely ground.
Remove chicken from buttermilk and coat in panko/nut mixture.
Fry in oil until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes per side.
Place chicken on paper towels to drain.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine sweet potatoes, brown sugar, maple syrup, and butter in a baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until potatoes are tender.
Place potatoes in a large mixing bowl and reserve any liquid that is in baking dish. Using a mixer, beat potatoes until smooth, adding reserved liquid as needed. (You can use a fork to mash the potatoes instead of a mixer.)
Mix in cream, salt, and both peppers. Keep warm.
Make gravy. Melt butter over low heat in a heavy saucepan.
Add flour and whisk into butter. Increase heat to medium and stir continuously for 2 minutes. (Do not let it brown.)
Gradually mix in milk and add salt. Continue to cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Mixture should be thick enough to coat back of spoon. Season with more salt if desired.
Notes
Cooking time is for chicken breasts on the thin side. I either flatten them or if they are really thick, I cut them in half horizontally.