Mustard With Mutton

I think you could put anything in the middle of a bread roll and it would taste great and one of my favourite sliders, apart from the usual burger of course, is chicken parmigiana. Parmigiana is delicious as is but put it in the middle of a bun and it tastes even better. This is a great make ahead family meal that’s a real crowd pleaser.  I like to bread my own chicken and make my own tomato sauce but if you are stretched for time, you can of course buy good quality pre-crumbed chicken from your butcher or poultry shop and use a premium tomato sauce from a jar. All the ingredients can be prepared beforehand, then just assemble the sliders at the last minute and bake. The smell wafting out of the oven as they cook is fabulous and you just know they are going to taste amazing – the bread comes out all crispy and garlicy (yes, that’s a word) and the tomato sauce and cheese are nice and bubbly. All you need in terms of a side is a salad.

Ingredients – serves 6 

12 slider buns – or 6 dinner size bread buns which is what I used
800g (approx) crumbed chicken schnitzels (breast or tenderloins) shallow fried  – basically you want enough chicken to generously cover each bun
2 cups tomato pasta sauce, home made or a good quality sauce from a jar
2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Place the bottom half of the slider buns in a greased casserole dish that will hold them snuggly. Place the cooked chicken evenly on the bottom buns and then cover them in sauce. Combine the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and sprinkle it over the sauce. Place the top buns on the sliders. 

Melt the butter and mix the garlic powder until it is thoroughly combined.  Pour the melted butter over the buns and then sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking for another 15 minutes, or until the tops of the rolls a crispy and the sliders are hot and bubbly.