Smoky red pepper relish with crispy chicken fingers

Ingredients

Relish:

• Mixed red peppers (we used 4 sweet palermo peppers, 6 sweet baby peppers and 4 red peppers)
• Glug olive or canola oil
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• ½ cup (125ml) red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup (60ml) sugar
• 1 tsp (5ml) smoked paprika
• 1 tsp (5ml) chilli flakes or 1 fresh red chilli (optional)
• Salt and milled pepper

Chicken fingers:

• 1 cup (150g) flour
• ½ cup (60g) cornflour
• ½ cup (125ml) grated parmesan cheese
• 4 chicken breast fillets, cut into strips
• 2 cups (500ml) buttermilk
• Oil, for deep frying

Method

1. Grill peppers over an open flame (or under the oven grill) for 10-12 minutes until blistered.
2. Place in a bowl, cover with clingfilm and set aside to sweat for 10-15 minutes.
3. Peel off charred skin, remove pith and seeds and roughly chop.
4. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté onion until soft.
5. Add remaining relish ingredients and cook for 10-15 minutes.
6. Tip in peppers and cook for 8-10 minutes until thick and syrupy.
7. Season and set aside.
8. Combine flour and cornflour and parmesan cheese in a bowl.
9. Season chicken strips, dip in buttermilk and coat in flour mixture.
10. Repeat twice until chicken is coated well.
11. Fill a medium-sized pot with 8-10cm oil and heat up until shimmery hot.
12. Fry chicken for 8-10 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
13. Drain on kitchen paper and season well.
14. Serve chicken strips warm with relish for dipping.

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