Pregnancy is a very subjective matter, and every woman has different experiences with regard to what they fancy eating and when. I’ve spoken to many women about what they craved, especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. Many, like me, needed to feel full and overload on carbohydrates, while others had no appetite at all and found that only small meals of plain wholesome food would help keep the sickness at bay. This recipe is for the first group. I felt constantly hungry during the first trimester and this recipe was something I cooked many times.

PREP TIME 30 MINUTES • COOK TIME 25 MINUTES • SERVES 2

100ml buttermilk

2 x 120–150g free-range skinless chicken breasts, or turkey breast steaks

2 slices wholemeal bread (stale is best, or dried out in the oven)

50g bran flakes

2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE SWEET POTATO CHIPS

2 large sweet potatoes

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp ground cumi

1 tsp dried oregano salt and freshly ground

black pepper

TO SERVE

lemon wedge

Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C). Pour the buttermilk into a large bowl and season with salt and Butterfly the chicken breasts by slicing them almost all of the way through the middle crossways and opening them out like a book. (If you are using turkey, put the steaks between two sheets of cling film and bash them with a rolling pin to flatten them to around 5mm thick.) Marinate the chicken in the buttermilk for 20 minutes to tenderise it.

Meanwhile, prepare the sweet potatoes by cutting them into 3cm-thick chips and place them in a Leave the skin on, as it not only tastes delicious but will also stop the chips falling apart during cooking. Add the remaining ingredients for the chips and mix well to coat thoroughly. Line a tray with baking parchment and spread the seasoned chips on it.

Blitz the stale bread with the bran flakes until they are fine crumbs, then add in the Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and coat well in the crumb mixture.

Place the chicken on the tray with the chips and cook in the oven for 10 Remove the tray from the oven, turn over the chips and chicken breasts, and cook for another 15 minutes.

The chips should now be nice and crispy and the chicken coating crisp and golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve with a wedge of lemon and a sprinkle of salt.