Coconut chicken strips with saffron aioli

Hello everyone, I have just returned from taking my niece to see Angelina Ballerina by The English National Ballet. It was fantastic! But my goodness, talk about little girl heaven. The theatre was a sea of pink, with truck loads of tulle, sequins and glitter. No wonder the few dads that came along looked bewildered.

This week's recipe is hot off the press as it was in this week's Good Living, which featured some recipes from a new book called Party: The Complete Guide To Food And Drinks. (I might have to buy it myself I so enjoyed both of the recipes from it that were featured). I had offered to prepare a few nibblies for drinks before the same niece's own ballet concert last night, and this recipe caught my eye. It is simple and sooooo delicious. The aioli makes a nice big quantity, so you can use the left overs with prawns or any seafood...it's also delicious with home made potato wedges!

Have a great week. Love, Jane xx

Coconut chicken strips with saffron aioli
Makes about 12-14 strips

What you need:

• 1/4 cup plain flour
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup soft fresh breadcrumbs (bap rolls are good)
• 1 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 500g chicken tenderloins
• Light olive oil or sunflower oil for deep frying

Saffron aioli

• Generous pinch of saffron threads
• 1 tablespoon boiling water
• 1 cup good quality mayonnaise (I use Thomy which you can buy in supermarkets)
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice

What you do:

1. To make the saffron aioli, pour the boiling water over the saffron threads; stir and leave for ten minutes.
2. Whisk the saffron liquid into the mayonnaise, then stir through the garlic and lemon juice.
3. Cover the aioli and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before serving.
4. Put the flour and the beaten eggs into separate bowls
5. Mix together the flour and coconut in a third bowl.
6. Dip the tenderloins in the flour, then the egg, then coat in the coconut crumb mix.
7. Place the tenderloins on a baking dish, cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
8. Heat a pan on top of the stove until it's very hot, then add the oil to a good depth for frying and heat until it's very hot.
9. Deep fry the tenderloins in batches (don't crowd the pan, space them out), turning once when golden on the first side, and drain as you cook them on paper towels.
10. Serve either immediately or when they have cooled with the saffron aioli.