Chicken Schnitzel Sandwiches

Last Year's Post: Korean Sliders
Two Years Ago:  Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese - All Grown Up

It's fall, and it's football season, which also makes it beer season.  I thought I'd get in the spirit of things by posting a very beer-friendly sandwich that's a twist on the classic veal or pork schnitzel - a chicken schnitzel sandwich with cider-braised red cabbage, Swiss cheese, and a combination of whole-grain mustard and mayo.  I even went all-out with pretzel rolls, but you could use hamburger buns or mini-baguettes if you can't find them.   Serve with your favorite craft beer and some chips or onion rings, and you've got the perfect pub meal.

You could certainly use veal or thinly-pounded pork in place of the chicken, but chicken cutlets are the perfect thinness without any pounding and are readily available in the grocery store.  If you can't find them, just cut chicken breasts in half horizontally.

The panko crumbs give the cutlets the perfect crunch to go with the tender braised cabbage.  The mustard-mayo sauce is creamy and full of flavor, but if you want to amp things up a bit you could add a little hot mustard powder or horseradish to the sauce as well.  Either way, this is a fun addition to your sandwich collection.

 print recipe

Chicken Schnitzel Sandwiches

Serves 4

For the braised cabbage:

½ head red cabbage, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

½ cup apple cider

½ cup cider vinegar

Salt and pepper

For the chicken:

4 chicken cutlets (or 2 chicken breasts sliced in half horizontally)

Salt and pepper

½ cup flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil

For the sandwiches:

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup whole grain Dijon mustard

4 slices Swiss cheese

4 pretzel rolls (or other rolls or baguette)

For the cabbage:  heat a large sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the butter until melted.  Add the caraway seeds and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add the cabbage and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the cider and vinegar and simmer for 15 minutes until the cabbage is soft, stirring occasionally.  Season with salt and pepper.  Keep warm.

Meanwhile, stir the mayonnaise and mustard together and set aside.

Assemble the chicken breading station by placing the flour, egg, and panko bread crumbs in three separate shallow bowls or plates, side by side.  Season the cutlets with salt and pepper and dip each one first into the flour, then the egg, then the panko crumbs making sure the cutlet is evenly coated.  Set aside on a baking pan until ready to cook.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat, then add the vegetable oil.  Add the cutlets and cook until golden brown, approximately 4 minutes.  Turn over carefully, reduce heat to medium-low, and fry on the second side until golden brown and cooked through, an additional 3-4 minutes.  Remove from the pan and place on paper towels.

To assemble the sandwiches, smear the mustard-mayo mixture on the top half of each roll.  Place a cheese slice on the bottom half, then top with a chicken cutlet and some of the braised cabbage.  Place the top on each roll and serve immediately.

Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca

Last Year's Post: Hoisin Burgers with Wasabi Slaw

I enjoy cooking and trying new ingredients and techniques so much that I actually feel sort of cheated if we're having a dinner that we just pulled out of the freezer to reheat.  I mean, what fun is that?  Of course, it's fabulous if you've had a really bad day but hopefully you don't have too many of those.  On the other hand, it's not a good idea to plan a week of meals that all take hours to prepare.  You have to have a break sometime.  This recipe is the best of all worlds - beautiful presentation, delicious flavor, an interesting technique yet fast to make, and low in calories.  It's definitely company-worthy, but easy enough to make any day of the week.  Really, what's not to like?  Moist and juicy chicken, woodsy sage and salty prosciutto covered in a velvety lemon sauce.  Yum.  Saltimbocca (meaning to jump in the mouth) is an Italian dish traditionally made with veal, sage and prosciutto but I love this version, adapted from Cooking Light magazine, even more.

It looks fancy but it's actually very easy.  Start with chicken cutlets, which are just thinner versions of chicken breasts.  You can sometimes find them in the store but it's just as easy to make your own by slicing a boneless skinless chicken breast in half horizontally.

OK,  I didn't do the greatest job of cutting it into two equal-sized cutlets but I'm sure you can do better.  Then you artistically place three fresh sage leaves on each cutlet and wrap with a thin slice or two of prosciutto, partially covering the leaves but letting some stick out. (That was the technique part in case you were wondering.)

Before sauteing  the chicken, heat a pot of water and start cooking some angel hair pasta.  The chicken cutlets cook for just a few minutes because they're thin.

Make a quick pan sauce from lemon juice, chicken broth, and a little cornstarch to thicken, then toss the  pasta with a little garlic and olive oil and you're good to go.  The entire meal takes maybe 30 minutes to make and has only about 400 calories but it tastes like a million bucks.

printable recipe

Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca

Serves 4

For the chicken:

2 (8 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally to make 4 (4 oz) chicken cutlets

1/8 teaspoon salt

12 fresh sage leaves

2 oz very thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 8 thin strips

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

2/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth

½ cup fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon cornstarch

lemon wedges for garnish, optional

For the pasta:

6 oz angel hair pasta

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 small garlic clove, minced

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions.

Meanwhile, sprinkle the chicken evenly with salt.  Place 3 sage leaves on each cutlet; wrap 2 prosciutto slices around each cutlet, securing sage leaves in place.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon oil to pan, swirling to coat.  Add chicken to pan; cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until done.  Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.

Combine broth, lemon juice and cornstarch in a small bowl while the chicken is cooking; stir with a whisk until smooth.  When chicken is removed from pan, add cornstarch mixture and the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil to pan; bring to a boil stirring constantly.  Cook for 1 minute or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. 

Drain the pasta and toss with 2 teaspoons olive oil and garlic.  Serve the chicken with the sauce spooned over and pasta along side.  Garnish with lemon wedges, optional.