A PERFECT pairing with Champagne this week? Keep it simple: Pan Frying!
A PERFECT pairing with Champagne this week? Keep it simple: Pan Frying!
We prepared this dish with milk fed veal cutlets (the method works equally well for chicken; if you use chicken, to make the pieces nice and thin, place boneless skinless breasts in large plastic ZipLoc and pound them with a rolling pin until they are uniformly ½ inch thick, or so)...
Here's what you do:
PREHEAT your oven to about 300 degrees (you'll be frying in batches and need to keep it all nice and hot) and heat up a large fry pan with 1/8"-1/4" of grapeseed (or similar vegetable oil on medium heat;
DREDGE the cutlets in all purpose flour (and really rub the flour in to form a thin even coat on both sides of each cutlet; I use Thomas Keller’s Cup4Cup Gluten Free Flour because of my allergy);
PREPARE a bowl with an egg bath (2 eggs, a healthy glug of milk and plenty of cracked black pepper) and a bowl of breadcrumbs (I use standard gluten free breadcrumbs);
Once the oil is nice and hot, PASS your cutlets down the assembly line through the egg bath, and then into the breadcrumbs…you can fry as many cutlets in the pan as will comfortably fit without crowding;
Because your cutlets are uniformly thin, you can judge the doneness by their appearance: when a cutlet is nice and golden, it’s done…TRANSFER the piece out of the fry pan and into the oven (don’t stack the fried cutlets in the oven dish to keep them hot (they’ll get soggy!) so you may need more than one dish);
Once fried up, SERVE with a salad of baby romaine or arugula and a garlicky balsamic vinaigrette**…we don't waste time with a starch for this dish because it means you have less room for more cutlets!
**1 CLOVE FRESH GARLIC + BALSAMIC VINEGAR + OLIVE OIL + SPOONFUL OF SOUR CREAM + KOSHER SALT + CRACKED BLACK PEPPER (WHIZ IT ALL TOGETHER USING A 'MAGIC BULLET' OR IMMERSION BLENDER OR SIMILAR).
To drink, Bubbles! I recommend:
- Bergere "Origine" Brut Champagne, N/V …for clean and classic.
- Bergere Extra Brut Champagne Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru, N/V …for bright and elegant.
Michel Gonet "Les 3 Terroirs" Blanc de Blancs Champagne …for vintage and charming.
Jean Vesselle Champagne Brut Reserve, N/V …for rich and luxurious.WhiteChampagneOrganic/Natural