This is my Crunchy Chicken Romesco Sandwich and it's the best summer focaccia sandwich I've ever made. Filled with a garlic parsley butter, grated parmesan cheese, a super simple homemade romesco sauce, crunchy panko chicken, and a gorgeous lightly dressed salad, I think you’re gonna love it.
I absolutely adore a good summer focaccia filled sandwich and this one has to be there at the top of my list!
If you fancy more sandwiches, then you'll love my lamb sandwich with chimichurri sauce, marry me chicken chopped salad sandwich, easy eggplant parmesan sandwich, best chopped salad sandwich, or my hot honey chicken sandwich!
Why you'll love this recipe
Picnic: This sandwich is great for a picnic or a summer's day feast!
Simple: This sandwich may have a handful of steps to it, but they're all very straightforward and easy to follow.
Flavour bomb: The combination of acidity, sweetness, saltiness, and spice are so perfect in this recipe. It's a joy for the senses.
Ingredients & Substitutions
For the crispy chicken: you'll need an egg, flour, and panko breadcrumbs, as well as two chicken breasts that you slice horizontally into 4 chicken cutlets. You could also use tofu and slice it into 1cm slabs to make it vegan. Replace the egg with olive oil.
For the romesco sauce: garlic, jarred red bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, almonds, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, paprika, and salt. If you don't have almonds, feel free to use any other nut you have.
The zingy salad: sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, parmesan, and black pepper for the sauce. I then used finely chopped lettuce leaves and some rocket (arugula) to combine in with the sauce.
Your finest bread: I've used a lovely loaf of focaccia. Feel free to use any kind of bun or bread you like!
Parsley garlic butter: It's in the name. Simply combine room temp butter with garlic and parsley. Choose plant-based butter if you're making the sandwich vegan!
Step by step instructions with photos
Step 1: Slice your chicken breasts in half horizontally to make 4 thin chicken cutlets. Coat in flour, followed by egg wash, followed by panko breadcrumbs. Repeat for all 4 cutlets. Place a pan on medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil and fry the cutlets on each side for 4 minutes until golden.
Step 2: Meanwhile, make your romesco sauce by combining all your romesco ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth and then set aside.
Step 3: Remove your fried panko chicken from the pan once golden and crispy. Set aside on a plate with a sheet of kitchen towel to absorb any excess oil.
Step 4: In a bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, grated parmesan, and black pepper. Drop in your lettuce and rocket and combine.
Step 5: Turn on the grill. In a small bowl, combine the butter, garlic, and parsley for your butter mixture. Slice your focaccia breads in half and divide the butter mixture evenly between the halves. Grate parmesan onto the butter until covered. Place the focaccia on trays and place under the grill for a few minutes until bubbling and slightly golden. Remove from the grill.
Step 6: Layer up your sandwich so place down a dollop of the romesco sauce on each side of the focaccia. Then on the bottom slice of the focaccia, add on your chicken cutlets, salad, and then the top slice of focaccia. Repeat for the other sandwich.
Step 7: Wrap your focaccia sandwiches in baking parchment and then either eat straight away or store in the fridge until you're ready to go!
More recipes you might enjoy!
For 23 more sandwich ideas from across the globe, check out my best sandwich recipes roundup!
If you tried this Crunchy Chicken Romesco Sandwich recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thank you!
Crunchy Chicken Romesco Sandwich
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 2 chicken breasts sliced horizontally into 4 cutlets
- 50g flour
- 50g panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg whisked
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
For the romesco sauce
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 jarred roasted red bell peppers
- 4 sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon almonds
- ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 4 tablespoon olive oil you might need more if it's not blending easily
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp kosher (flaky) salt
For the salad
- 2 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- ½ juice lemon
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan
- black pepper
- 5 gem lettuce leaves finely chopped
- Handful of arugula/rocket
Other bits
- 2 focaccia loaves or sandwich sized pieces
- 4 tablespoon butter room temperature
- 5g parsley finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- Parmesan lots of it for multiple grating sessions!!
Instructions
- Slice your chicken breasts in half horizontally to make 4 thin chicken cutlets. Coat in flour, followed by egg wash, followed by panko breadcrumbs. Repeat for all 4 cutlets. Place a pan on medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil and fry the cutlets for 4 minutes on each side until golden.
- Meanwhile, make your romesco sauce by combining all your romesco ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth (add more olive oil if it's not blending smoothly) and then set aside.
- Remove your fried panko chicken from the pan once golden and crispy. Set aside on a plate with a sheet of kitchen towel underneath to absorb any excess oil.
- In a bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, grated parmesan, and black pepper. Drop in your lettuce and rocket and combine.
- Turn on the grill. In a small bowl, combine the butter, garlic, and parsley for your butter mixture. Slice your focaccia breads in half and divide the butter mixture evenly between the halves, spreading the butter on each side of the focaccia slice (top and bottom). Grate parmesan onto the buttered focaccia until covered. Place the focaccia on trays and place under the grill for a few minutes until bubbling and slightly golden. Remove from the grill.
- Time to layer up your sandwich!! So place down a dollop of the romesco sauce on each side of the focaccia. Then on the bottom slice of the focaccia, add on your chicken cutlets, salad, and then the top slice of focaccia. Repeat for the other sandwich.
- Wrap your focaccia sandwiches in baking parchment and then either eat straight away or store in the fridge until you're ready to go!
Elli
I left out the bell peppers and almonds from the romesco sauce (didn't have any on hand) and the sour cream from the salad (can't have dairy; I used vegan parmesan as well). This is the best sandwich I've ever had. Absolutely delicious. Next time I'll be sure to add the peppers and almonds. I imagine it'll only get tastier.
Camila
This recipe is awesome. We keep making it time and time again sometimes we make our own focaccia other times we buy Trader Joe’s sun dried tomato. So delicious!
Lauren
This is absolutely delicious, I made mine with halloumi and missed out the Parmesan. My fiancé and mum had the original recipe. We both said ‘holy s***’ after the first bite and my mum rated it 12/10. This will be one that’s in regular rotation. Thanks for the recipe! X
Teri
It is a delicious combination of flavors!
SteveM
Oh wow was this delicious!