Veal almost never occurs to me as something you can actually eat.
When I see veal listed on a restaurant menu, my eyes skip right past it. I’ve bought it in the grocery store maybe five times in my life.
It even took me a second to remember what kind of meat it is (ssh). It’s safe to say the stuff is off my radar.
But every time I do eat it – especially when I eat it this way, breaded with parmesan cheese and topped with salty capers – I remember: oh, right. It’s really delicious. And easy to make. And a lighter alternative to my usual go-to summer dinner of steak. Serve it with the cold pasta salad I posted about earlier this week, and you have an easy, inexpensive, and fast (I’d say fifteen minutes start-to-finish should do it) weeknight dinner all ready to go.
What You Need (serves 4):
4 veal cutlets, pounded thin (or you can ask your butcher to cut them thin)
1 cup of flour poured into a shallow bowl or onto a plate
Three eggs, lightly scrambled in a shallow bowl
1/2 cup grated parmigiana cheese lightly mixed with 1/2 cup bread crumbs (preferably Panko) in a shallow bowl or on a plate
Salt and pepper
Butter
Olive oil
Capers
What You Do:
1. Sprinkle one of your cutlets with salt and pepper, then dip it in flour.
2. Then dip it in the egg. Maybe take off your pretty rings before you do this (aren’t Francesca’s rings so pretty??).
3. Next step: dip the cutlet in the parmigiana/bread crumb mixture. Pat it on a little bit if you need to to get it to stay put.
4. OK, now the frying. This is the best tip ever, so listen close: instead of just choosing oil or butter to fry your cutlets in, use a little of both: the oil is better for you, but the butter will brown up the dish nicely. Win!
5. Repeat with each cutlet, placing the finished cutlets in a stove on low heat to keep them warm until you’re ready to eat. Serve sprinkled with capers and a little chopped parsley.
