How far would you go for a good fat piece of steak?

There isn't a decent steakhouse near my place so, I walked only as far as the kitchen. I'd procured all my supplies the day before and the thought of a hearty meal with a succulent medium-rare steak (actually two for myself!) and some wine (let it flow, let it flow, let it flow ) made me dizzy with pleasure. For the sauce, I prefer Béchamel. Any day. So that was that.

Pity, I forgot the bottle of wine!

 

Here's the recipe for my fried chicken steaks. You'd require:

a. 4 chicken breasts
b. A pinch of black pepper (preferably, freshly ground for enhanced flavor)
c. 1/2 cup refined flour
d. 6-8 fat cloves of garlic cut into slivers
e. Salt to taste
f. Butter/vegetable oil for shallow-frying the steaks

For the Béchamel Sauce:

a. 2 tbsp butter
b. 3 tbsp refined flour
c. a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
d. a pinch of salt – JUST a pinch 🙂
e. 2 cups milk (the milk must be really HOT for a deliciously smooth sauce)
f. a pinch of nutmeg

For the garnish:

Steamed vegetables such as, carrot, bean, green peas and broccoli

Pat dry the chicken breasts and wipe off excess  moisture with a kitchen towel. Pound the fillets gently yet firmly with a mallet. Do this one at a time, keeping each fillet between plastic wraps while pounding until evenly flattened (about 1" thick). Cut shallow slits lengthwise along the chicken breasts stuffing the pockets with the slivered garlic. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the fillets dredging them at the end with flour. Now set the fillets aside while you work on the Béchamel sauce.

You can prepare your Béchamel sauce in advance but fret not if you haven't! Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. Add the flour blending it well with the melted butter and cooking over moderate heat. Stir briskly for about 2 minutes with a wooden spoon until butter and flour turn frothy and bubbly but no darker than a luscious buttery yellow. Turn off the heat and when the bubbling dies down, briskly whisk in all the hot milk. Bring the sauce to the boil, whisking all along. Simmer and stir for about 2 more minutes. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Keep warm.

Next, heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the steaks after shaking off the excess flour. Cook until done. This should take about 5 minutes for each side over a moderate to low flame. If you prefer your steaks rare, reduce the cooking time to around 2 minutes per side.Serve the steaks immediately with the Béchamel sauce and the steamed veggies.