The French term “a la tartare” originally described any dish that was covered in breadcrumbs, grilled and served with a highly seasoned sauce.
Flatten the chicken with a meat mallet until 6mm/ 1/4 in thick. Cut the chicken into 5cm 2 inch pieces. Finely chop the ham.
Use your hands to mix together the ham and cheese in a mixing bowl. Top each piece of chicken with the mixture. Roll up to enclose filling.
Spread flour and breadcrumbs on separate chopping boards. Beat egg in a shallow dish. Coat chicken nuggets in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs.
Fill a deep pan with oil until about one-third full. Heat the oil until a cube of white bread dropped in takes 30 seconds to brown. Add chicken nuggets in batches. Deep fry for about 3 minutes per batch. or until golden brown. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Keep warm. Serve the nuggets with tartare sauce and salad leaves.
It is important to heat the oil thoroughly before adding the chicken in step 4, or the nuggets will soak up oil and become soggy.
These crunchy chicken nuggets taste great with home made French fries or creamy mashed potatoes and steamed peas or baby broad beans.
Tartare sauce is a mayonnaise based sauce made with capers, dill pickles, onions or shallots, olives and lemon juice or vinegar.
