The $25 Dinner is a monthly series where I’ll make hearty, satisfying dinners that serve four (or two with very good leftovers) for $25 or less.
As a reminder, here are a few ground rules:
* No assumptions. Oil, salt, pepper, and water are the freebies; everything else I have to buy. You might have other pantry staples hiding in your kitchen, but I want to put these dinners through a worst-case-scenario test and shop completely from scratch.
* No sneaky math. If I need two cups of rice, I’m not going to tell you it costs $1.00 from a larger bag. The entire package has to go toward my $25.
*No discounts. I’m shopping at my regular mid-priced Brooklyn grocery store. Could I do this for less at Aldi or Trader Joe’s? One trillion percent, and you definitely should! But I want to know you can walk into a regular store with $25 and come out with dinner.
*No hiding. You get to see the receipts. I’ll show you exactly what I bought and what everything cost, plus any shopping decisions I made along the way.
This is probably the dinner my boyfriend, Pacifico, requests most often. (Spaghetti and meatballs are a very close second, but that’s for another day.) And I’m always happy to make it because there are few things more satisfying than a crispy chicken cutlet, especially when you pile a lemony arugula salad right beside it.
At the grocery store, I made a couple executive decisions. First, I grabbed a packet of onion soup mix because staying under budget will never mean staying under-seasoned. Adding a little into the flour and breadcrumbs gives a boost of savory flavor without buying a bunch of separate seasonings. We’re also using seasoned panko because: A) they were the same price as plain and B) we want flavor everywhere we can get it! But if you already have plain breadcrumbs at home, put that onion soup mix to work and toss another tablespoon into the breadcrumbs.
(Also, I accidentally grabbed a bag of self-rising flour — oops! — but I went back to price check all-purpose flour and I would have come out the same. Do as I say, not as I do!)
My grand total: $23.29. A whole $1.71 for the piggy bank!
And because I’m a curious little cat, I went down a cutlet-shaped rabbit hole to see who thought of it first. The short answer is: there is no short answer. Milan has cotoletta alla milanese, a breaded veal chop fried in butter. Vienna has Wiener schnitzel, a (you’ll never guess!) breaded veal cutlet fried until crisp. When Italian immigrants met America’s favorite protein, chicken became the cutlet we know and love today. But I’ve had great cutlets of various proteins across Europe, Latin America, Japan, and in a million Little Italys. Maybe a perfect cutlet is the secret to world peace? Ok, enough talking, I’m starving!
Crispy Chicken Cutlets With Arugula Salad
Serves 4
Chicken Cutlets
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 1 large globe eggplant*)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon onion soup mix
3 large eggs
2 cups seasoned panko
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
Arugula Salad
1 large lemon
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 ounces baby arugula
*Make it vegetarian: Swap the chicken for one large globe eggplant. Slice it lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick planks, season with salt on both sides, and let them sit for 20 minutes — an important step to draw out excess moisture and that bitter taste eggplant can have. Rinse under cold water, pat them completely dry, then bread and fry as directed, until deeply golden and tender.
Make the cutlets: Trim any fat off the chicken breasts, then slice each chicken breast in half horizontally to make two thinner cutlets.
Working one at a time, place a cutlet between two pieces of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin or meat mallet to whack the cutlet into an even thickness, about 1/4 inch.
Set up three deep plates or quarter sheet pans if you have them. In the first, whisk together the flour and one tablespoon of onion soup mix. Crack the eggs into the second and whisk. In the third, toss the panko with the remaining one teaspoon of onion soup mix.
The magic trick here is using a fork to transfer the cutlets from one plate to the next so your hands stay nice and dry. Working one at a time, dredge a cutlet in the flour mixture, flipping to coat, then lift and shake off any excess. Transfer to the eggs, flip to coat, then lift and let the excess drip off. Finally, transfer to the panko — and now you can use your hands! Press firmly until the cutlet is well coated on both sides. Transfer to a full sheet tray and repeat with the remaining chicken.
Let the breaded cutlets relax while you make the salad: Squeeze half of the lemon into a large bowl, season with salt and pepper, then whisk in about twice as much olive oil. Taste it on a leaf of arugula and whisk in more oil, salt, and/or pepper until you’re happy. Set the dressing aside; we’ll toss in the arugula just before serving.
Fry the cutlets: Pour 3/4 cup of olive oil into a large skillet and set over medium heat. Heat until the oil is shimmering, about three to four minutes. To test it, drop in a pinch of panko. If it immediately sizzles, you’re good to go. If you get an underwhelming reaction, give the oil another minute.
Arrange two cutlets in the skillet and fry, using tongs to flip halfway, until beautifully golden brown and cooked through, about four minutes per side. Transfer to a fresh paper towel-lined sheet tray and season with a pinch of salt. If you need to, add more oil to the skillet and let it heat up before frying the remaining cutlets.
Toss the salad and serve: Cut the remaining lemon half into four wedges. Quickly whisk the dressing again, then toss in the arugula. Divide the chicken and salad among plates and serve with those cute lemon wedges for squeezing over the chicken.
Store and reheat: Refrigerate any leftover cutlets in an airtight container for up to three days. Reheat the cutlets in a 400°F oven or air fryer until hot and crispy, about five to eight minutes. Store any leftover arugula and dressing separately and toss just before serving.
Casey Elsass is a food writer, recipe developer, and cookbook author based in Brooklyn. He is the author of the bestselling cookbook What Can I Bring?: Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life and has co-authored more than 30 cookbooks. His writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times, New York Magazine, Bon Appétit, NPR, Food52, and, of course, Cup of Jo.
P.S. Three favorite chicken breast recipes, and a five-ingredient lemon-y chicken dinner.
(Photos by Pacifico Silano.)
This story originally appeared on Cup of Jo
