Cotolette di Tacchino o Pollo con l’Insalata Estiva
chicken or turkey cutlets with summer salad
This is my favourite summer dish. I’d eat it twice a day every single day if I didn’t need to spend so much time with less impulsive people.
Chill the salad part of the dish and then add the oil, lemon juice and salt right before serving over the hot part. Make sure the people at the table are waiting for this dish versus the other way around. The contrast in temperatures might be the best part.
- Thinly sliced chicken or turkey breast (turkey has far, far better texture)
- Small, candy-like tomatoes. If you’re not at the high of the season, consider changing the salad to radishes and rughetta (rocket or arugula, depending on your linguistic geography).
- A lemon per person
- A generous handful of basil per person
- Bread crumbs or panko (the later works better)
- An egg a person
- Salt
- Best quality extra virgin olive oil
- A cube of potato
- Oil for frying. We use last year’s extra virgin but you can use what’s on hand
- Draining rack or paper towels
– Cut the tomatoes any consistent way you like and place in bowl. Stack and slice the basil into thin filaments. Place bowl in fridge for a few hours. Juice a lemon per person and chill. Place your bottle of extra virgin in fridge as well.
– When guests are the table. Fill pot half way with your frying oil. Place in potato cube. Break the eggs and scramble on a dinner plate and pour your breadcrumbs onto a second plate. Salt both.
– Dredge the turkey or chicken in the egg on both sides, then the breadcrumbs and then the egg again and then the bread crumbs again. Sprinkle more breadcrumbs over any wet spots.
– Mix your lemon juice, salt, extra virgin and tomatoes in the big bowel and when your potato cube is brown, submerge the turkey in the oil, cooking until the desired level of crispiness and favorite colour of brown (regulate based the thickness of your fillets).
– Remove from oil, salt, place on your favorite serving plate and spoon on tomatoes and juice and serve immediately with a serving fork, a serving knife and tongs (so that any large piece can be cut smaller).
If you find that you’re trying to eat this lunch and dinner and lunch and dinner all summer long, your doctor might need to up your meds. It didn’t work for me.
