One of the first meals I ever tasted in Italy as a young teenager was a Cotoletta Milanese, a thin slice of pink veal, fried in extra virgin olive oil and butter and doused in sweet lemon juice. It is easy to reproduce at home - pork, chicken, or turkey a convenient substitute for veal. You can also use slices of aubergines or courgettes to make a vegetarian version. Great recipe to get kids helping in the kitchen.
Ingredients:
4 pork chops, chicken breasts or turkey breasts, approx.180g each
2-3 tablespoons plain flour
Sea salt and black pepper
2 free range eggs
3-4 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
200g unsalted butter
Olive oil
2 unwaxed lemons
Greaseproof paper
Method:
If you are using pork cutlets, trim and remove any excess fat.
Cut into the edges of the fat with a sharp knife every 2 cm so that it stays flat while cooking.
Lay each piece of pork, chicken, or turkey between two sheets of greaseproof paper. Use a tenderiser or wooden rolling pin to pound the meat to tenderise it and flatten it out as thin as you can.
Prepare 3 shallow bowls, one with flour, one with eggs and one with breadcrumbs.
Beat the eggs and season.
Season the meat well on both sides.
Now, dip each piece of meat in the flour on both sides, shaking off any excess. Draw through the egg and then press each side into the breadcrumbs, making sure they are well coated. using your hands to press the meat into the crumbs to make sure they are well coated.
Lay them on a flat plate and pop in the fridge to allow the crumb firm up.
Remove from the fridge and using the back of a fork, fluff up the breadcrumb coating to help create a crispier result.
Warm the olive oil and the butter to a wide shallow frying pan.
As soon as the butter stops foaming, cook each cotoletta, in a single layer over a brisk heat until golden brown on each side, about 3-4 minutes.
Remove to a warm plate.
Serve with a fresh green salad and lots of lemon juice.
BREADCRUMBS
I always have a stack of home- made breadcrumbs in the kitchen. Simply collect any ends of stale bread and all those ‘heels’ that we throw in the bin. Break them into chunks and pop into a liquidiser. Whizz until they form crumbs. Spread on a baking tray and dry in a low oven for an hour or so. Keep in a sealed container for a few months. Perfect for breaded fish, fishcakes, or stuffing vegetables.
Mary Contini OBE is a writer and Director of Valvona & Crolla ltd. We are happy to welcome you in our CaffèBar and shop again, open all day. Book and order online: www. valvonacrolla.com Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. www.richardsonsofwhitehaven.co.uk
Subscribe to The Herald and don't miss a single word from your favourite writers by clicking here
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19496323.subscribe-herald-just-2/
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here