Chicken Milanese with Polenta Mash & Peppers

I hate polenta. Which in itself is no big deal in the grand scheme of things, except for the fact that my family are from just outside Venice and I’m kind of genetically pre-disposed and expected to love that stuff. My Nonno used to boil it, bake it, fry it, wash his car with it and take it to bed with himself every night – naturally. In vain he tirelessly and relentlessly flavoured it, buried it under things it and disguised it in a thanklessly futile attempt to allure me to its darkest and most desirable secrets. To no avail.

But I really wanted to like it. As a boy I desperately didn’t want to disappoint my Nonno, I just wanted to feel his amazing blue-eyed smile fill the room with his special warmth as he finally achieved his life-long ambition of actually getting some inside me. Yet no, it wasn’t to be. With each and every grimace as I bit, tore and chewed my way through wet and sometimes crunchy corn nothingness, I could feel his pain and sadness inside – as if I’d just turned the crucifix over his bed upside-down to see what Jesus would have looked like had he taken up freestyle Base-Jumping. He must have been so disappointed.

He’s sadly gone now, but out of respect for him I’ve taken up his cause and have continued throughout my life with his committed efforts to make me like Polenta. And tonight, in the name of the most beautiful man I have ever met, is one of those nights…

Chicken Milanese was meant to be on the menu earlier in the week, but due to freezer issues – meaning the chicken was still inside it – I had to rain-check. Then it rained today and I remembered. I have the same feelings about raw chicken as I do Polenta, at least Polenta isn’t slippery. Anyway, carefully bash it flat (the chicken, not the polenta), dredge in seasoned flour, dip in beaten egg and coat with bread crumbs. Boil up some French beans and potatoes. Gently fry sweet peppers in lots and lots of salted butter with paprika, chilli flakes and a little olive oil (you’ll need it later). Make up a small pan of Polenta. Fry the breaded chicken in more butter, lemon juice, zest and olive oil, then add the nearly cooked beans. Mash the potatoes, combine the buttery pepper juices with the polenta and fold into the mash.

Plate it all up in whichever way you fancy
I looked upwards, smiled at Nonno, raised my glass and told him I loved it. I may not be fully forgiven but after all these years I’m pleased to have made it this far. For his sake.

Things you might need for Chicken Milanese with Polenta…