BUTTERMILK-FRIED FLORIDA CHICKEN

Chef Justin shows us his take on one of Brunch's most famous entrees - Chicken & Waffles. Instead of waffles, Chef Justin is making sweet corn and ricotta fritters along with a fresh arugula salad. And don't forget the Florida cane syrup.
Yield 4 Servings
 
Ingredients:

• 4 Florida chicken cutlets, skinless and boneless
  
• 2 cups natural flour
  
• 1.3 cup cornstarch
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
  
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
  
• 2 servings whole wheat pancake mix, prepared as directed on package
  
• 2 ears Florida sweet corn, shucked and kernels removed from cob
  
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
  
• 1 cup red Florida sweet pepper, diced small
  
• 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped fine
  
• Olive oil for cooking
  
• 8 ounces Florida arugula
  
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
  
• Florida sugar cane syrup to taste
  

 
Preparation:

1. Preheat a fryer to 350 degrees.
   
2. Preheat medium sized sauté pan over medium heat.
   
3. Combine the flour and cornstarch in a medium sized bowl, and season with salt and pepper.
   
4. In a second mixing bowl, combine the eggs and buttermilk. Mix the buttermilk and egg mixture to combine.
   
5. Lightly season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Coat the cutlets in a thin layer of the flour mixture, and then dip them into the buttermilk mixture. Let the excess buttermilk mixture drain off, and then place the coated cutlets into the hot fryer. Continue this process with all four cutlets.
   
6. Cook cutlets in fryer until they are golden brown, and completely cooked throughout. The cooking process could take 4 to 7 minutes depending on the size.
   
7. When the cutlets are completely cooked throughout, place them on a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
   
8. To prepare the fritters, add the fresh corn, ricotta, sweet peppers and parsley to the prepared pancake batter.
   
9. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
   
10. Spoon silver dollar sized dollops of the fritters into the preheated sauté pan that has been oiled with a teaspoon of olive oil. Cook fritters for about two minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove cooked fritters from pan and continue cooking process until all the batter is used.
    
11. In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the arugula, lemon juice and one teaspoon olive oil. Season the arugula to taste with salt and pepper, and toss to evenly coat.
    
12. To plate dish, place two fritters on each plate, add an even amount of the arugula, and top with a cooked chicken cutlet. Drizzle the chicken with the sugar cane syrup.
    

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