Step 1

Place the bayleaves, carrot, onion and peppercorns in a medium sized saucepan with the milk.

Step 2

Bring the milk almost to a simmer over medium heat. Be carefull not to boil it. Once small bubbles form on top and the milk is nice and hot, cover the pan and let the ingredients infuse into the milk for a half hour.

Step 3

Meanwhile, prepare your chicken. Pound the butterflied chicken breasts with a meat mallet. I covered the chicken with parchment paper to keep my mallet and the chicken clean.

Step 4

Pound until each breast has increased in size by about one third.

Step 5

Combine the flour with the salt and pepper.

Step 6

Dredge each chicken breast in the flour mixture, followed with the egg wash and then the bread crumbs.

Step 7

Pre-heat your oven to 200c (400f). Then heat about a litre (4 cups) rapeseed (canola) oil over medium heat until it reaches 180c (350f). If you don't have a thermometer, your oil is ready when it begins to shimmer and a small piece of chicken sizzles immediately when added to the oil.

Step 8

Fry each chicken steak individually for about 5 minutes or until crispy and brown. Transfer to paper towels to soak up the excess oil.

Step 9

With the milk inflused, melt 3 tbsp of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When melted, stir in the flour and whisk continuously to make a roux. Then slowly add the milk.

Step 10

Stir continuously to make a bechamel sauce. This will take about 15 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. If working ahead, this can all be done a day earlier. The sauce will thicken more as it cools.

Step 11

To finish, use a plate to flatten each parmo a little more. Then top generously with the bechamel sauce and the cheese.

Step 12

Place in the pre-heated oven and cook for 20 minutes until the cheese has melted. If you want, you can also place the finished parmos under a hot grill to char the top slightly but this isn't necessary.

Step 13

Serve with garlic mayo, ketchup and chips. Or go light and just serve them with a nice salad or two as we did.