You must really be thinking "who is this gal who says she loves pasta so much but hasn't actually posted about making pasta yet"? Well. Let me tell you - if you expect too much of me I will surely let you down. I WILL get around to making fresh pasta again soon, when it feels right. Lately I've been dreaming of a beautiful silky broad pasta sheet with a light Bolognese sauce..... for another day.
Today - we're talking about an Italian kitchen classic: simple chicken cutlets.
As a tiny girl, this was in the fridge at my nana's house at least once a week (I think....but I can't really remember because I was so tiny and have trauma brain.) Over the past few years of learning about cooking, Adolfo and I realized we enjoyed having a bulk stash of these cutlets on hand for days and days of mix and match delicious nourishing goodness. They go great with everything: grab some sauce and noodles, throw in some chicken. Make a fresh salad with seasonal tomatoes, top it with some sliced cutlets. Have some delicious crusty bread? Add some sliced cheese and roasted bell peppers and a cutlet and you're in business. Shall I go on? Because I could. These are the best. And budget friendly.
I'm not going to give you measurements because I never measure these... you just do it.
1. Get some chicken, a nice juicy chicken breast, think 1 breast = 2 servings. With a sharp knife, slice it nice and thin. If you're the real deal, you could spend some time smashing them into very nice and thin sheets. If you were a newbie like me, then you would use a mason jar and smash them really hard while thinking about all of the folks who wronged you over the past week.
Or you could be fancy and use your a meat tenderizer tool and think about all of the goals you're going to crush in the week ahead. I think I've landed somewhere in the middle: crushing goals and smashing negativity. Most recently I did not smoosh the meat at all, I just cut it thinly, acknowledged my feelings and moved along.
2. Get 3 large flat bowls. Fill one with plain flour, the other with breadcrumbs + chopped parsley + freshly grated parmesan cheese. I do not know how much of each, just call upon your Italian ancestors and they'll send a signal when you have enough. If you don't have any Italian ancestors, you can borrow mine, but I charge a small fee for this service. Look, you did it!
3. In another bowl, add a bunch of eggs, maybe 4? Beat them together nicely with a fork.
4. Next, I like to line a baking sheet with some parchment paper because its about to get messy.
Then, the steps are important: you must do this in order. Expect your hands to get very dirty.
Take the chicken slice, toss it in the flour on both sides.
Then, the steps are important: you must do this in order. Expect your hands to get very dirty.
Take the chicken slice, toss it in the flour on both sides.
Then dip the floured chicken into the egg.
And THEN into the breadcrumbs. Make sure its fully coated, and then lay it on your parchment paper.
Repeat this for all the cutlets. If you mess up, its ok. I mess up all of the time.
5. Once you have floured+egged+crumbed your chickens, heat a frying pan to medium heat. Add some oil - we used grapeseed oil but you could use whatever you like. Cook your chicken cutlets until golden and crispy on each side. Enjoy the sizzle.
I like to lay the cutlets on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil. Add some salt + pepper to taste.
I usually store them with layers of towel between the cutlets in the containers
so they don't get mushy. We'll eat these all up in a few days. The best! This time, we paired them with sautéed rainbow chard cooked with garlic + shallots. Such a simple but balanced meal.
There you have it,
Classic Chicken Cutlets!
Cheers
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