McChicken4 The Mediterranean

Name: McChicken4 The Mediterranean
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Chicken breast 100% Italian 0.7 lb; Hamburger muffins with seeds 4; Bacon 8 slices; Salad Batavia lettuce 4 leaves; Type 00 flour 1.7 cups; Water cold 1.4 cups; Blond beer cold 1.7 oz; Lemon peel 1; Marjoram dry to taste; Thyme dry to taste; Fine salt 1.8 tsp; White pepper to taste; Breadcrumbs 4 ¼ cups; Semolina to taste; Sunflower seed oil to taste; Sunflower seed oil 1 cup; Egg yolks 1; White wine vinegar 2 tsp; Sun-dried tomatoes in oil 0.7 oz; Extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp; Grana Padano PDO cheese to be grated 5 tbsp; Tomato paste 1 tbsp; Mustard 2 tsp; Fine salt 2 tsp; Cashews ½ tsp; Oregano dry 1 pinch

Lactose Free

Difficulty: Average
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Serving: 4

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PRESENTATION

McChicken The Mediterranean takes the iconic McChicken® cutlet — 100% Italian chicken breast with a classic breaded coating — and builds the whole sandwich around a sauce worth making from scratch. That sauce is a dense red pesto of sun-dried tomatoes, Grana Padano DOP, and cashews: nothing like the familiar basil-green version, and noticeably richer and more savory for it. Crispy golden bacon brings a smoky edge, and fresh Batavia lettuce keeps the sandwich from tipping heavy. Together, those three elements frame the cutlet rather than compete with it, and the whole thing comes together at the dinner table as something more considered than its fast-food starting point might suggest.

The pesto rosso is the part that makes Mediterranean McChicken worth assembling at home. Sun-dried tomatoes give it depth and a gentle sweetness, the cashews round out the texture into something genuinely creamy, and the Grana Padano DOP adds the kind of savory finish a looser dressing simply cannot. Spread generously, it ties the bacon, lettuce, and breaded chicken into a single coherent bite — one that shifts the familiar McChicken® format into a sandwich you'd actually want to sit down with.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken breast 0.7 lb (300 g) - 100% Italian

Hamburger muffins 4 - with seeds

Bacon 8 slices

Salad 4 leaves - Batavia lettuce

For the batter: Type 00 flour 1.7 cups (200 g); Water 1.4 cups (330 g) - cold; Blond beer 1.7 oz (50 g) - cold; Lemon peel 1; Marjoram to taste - dry; Thyme to taste - dry; Fine salt 1.8 tsp (10 g); White pepper to taste

For the breading: Breadcrumbs 4 ¼ cups (500 g); Semolina to taste

For frying: Sunflower seed oil to taste

For the red pesto sauce: Sunflower seed oil 1 cup (220 g); Egg yolks 1; White wine vinegar 2 tsp (10 g); Sun-dried tomatoes in oil 0.7 oz (20 g); Extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp (25 g); Grana Padano PDO cheese 5 tbsp (25 g) - to be grated; Tomato paste 1 tbsp (15 g); Mustard 2 tsp (10 g); Fine salt 2 tsp (10 g); Cashews ½ tsp (3 g); Oregano 1 pinch - dry

Preparation

How to prepare McChicken4 The Mediterranean

To prepare the McChicken4 The Mediterranean start with the sauce: pour the egg yolk and the white wine vinegar into a bowl 1, then turn on the electric beaters at high speed. As soon as the mixture begins to change color, add the vegetable oil in a thin, steady stream while keeping the beaters running 3.

Finally add the salt and mix again to incorporate it 4. Set the mayonnaise aside for the moment and move on to the pesto: in a food processor put the sun-dried tomatoes, the olive oil 5 and the grated Grana Padano DOP 6.

Add the cashews 7, the mustard 8 and the tomato paste 9.

Finally season with the dried oregano 10. Blend until you obtain a dense mixture, but with small pieces of tomato still visible 11. At this point fold the pesto into the mayonnaise, mixing gently 12.

Set the red pesto sauce aside 13. Move on to the batter: pour the flour into a bowl and flavor with grated lemon zest 14 and thyme 15.

Also add the salt 16, the marjoram 17 and the white pepper 18.

Pour in the water 19 and the beer 20 and mix gently with a whisk 21.

You should obtain a smooth, lump-free batter 22. Now take the whole chicken breast and cut it in half 23 34, then remove any cartilage and small bones.

Cut the fillets again in half to obtain a total of 4 pieces roughly the same size 25. Coat the chicken first in the semolina 26 and then in the batter 27, taking care to let the excess drip off.

Finally cover it with the breadcrumbs 28. Place the cutlets 29 on a tray and let them rest at room temperature. In the meantime arrange the bacon strips on a baking tray, well spread out and spaced from each other 30.

Place under the oven grill (broiler) for 5 minutes, until they are crispy and golden 31. You are now ready to fry the chicken: heat the vegetable oil to 3386F66F and immerse one cutlet at a time using a slotted spoon 32. Meanwhile arrange the buns on a baking sheet cut side up and grill for 3-4 minutes 33.

They should be golden 34. At this point the chicken cutlets will be cooked and crispy, so drain them 35 and transfer them to paper towels 36.

Now you can assemble the sandwich: place the bottom half of the bun on a cutting board 37, lay the cutlet on top 37 and add two slices of bacon 39.

Continue with a leaf of lettuce 40 and finish with the red pesto sauce 41. Your McChicken The Mediterranean is ready to enjoy 42.

Storage

No storage is recommended.

Tip

Let the breaded chicken rest for a few minutes before frying; this will help the coating adhere optimally.

It is important that the oil is at the correct temperature to ensure a perfect fry. If you do not want to use beer you can replace the water and beer with the same amount of cold sparkling water.

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