Southern Fried Chicken Salad

This fried chicken is seriously addictive served alongside a blue cheese salad as a lunch or light dinner.

1. In a bowl, mix together the buttermilk, season with sea salt and ground black pepper and marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge.
2. Pour the cornflakes in a large freezer bag and using a rolling pin, crush the cornflakes and the rest of the coating ingredients in until you have a coarse powder. Add the rest of the coating ingredients to the bag along with seasoning. Seal the bag and shake the dry mix until all ingredients are well combined. Place onto a platter.
3. When you are ready to cook the chicken, remove the chicken pieces from the buttermilk and dredge in the seasoned cornflakes. Shake off any excess, then place the chicken in the pan of hot oil (175ºC/350˚F) to fry. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side until they are cooked through and have a good golden brown colour. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper. Keep warm in a low-heat oven.
4. For the dressing, mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and season to taste.
5. For the salad, trim the bottom off the iceberg lettuce and remove outside leaves. Cut the lettuce into eighths lengthwise, and then into 5cm pieces. Arrange the pieces on a large serving platter. Garnish with the radish and cucumber slices. Slice the chicken pieces into thick 2cm strips and arrange around the lettuce wedges. Finally dress the platter generously with the blue cheese dressing, chives and perhaps some extra crumbled blue cheese. Serve at the table and devour.

For the chicken and coating:

350ml buttermilk

6 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into strips

Sunflower oil, for frying

3 tbsp plain flour

75g cornflakes

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp garlic powder

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing:

150g blue cheese, crumbled

100g mayonnaise

3 tbsp sour cream

2 tbsp buttermilk

Juice of ½ lemon

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp hot sauce (tabasco)

For the salad:

Iceberg lettuce,

½ cucumber, thinly sliced on a mandolin

6 radishes, thinly sliced on a mandolin

A small handful of chives