Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Wilted Chard

Every week, Caroline Wright creates simple, civilized recipes for Food52 that feed four -- for under $20, in under 20 minutes.

Today: A formula for the simplest weeknight go-to.

A crispy breaded cutlet, served with a seasonal vegetable, is one of my favorite simple dinners. The key to making this dish shine, I think, above cooking the chicken nicely (a cinch to do), is for the side dish to bring big flavor to sneak in with every crisp bite. I made this chard with that thought in mind, so it acted the way a squeeze of lemon or swath of mustard might on warmer days. 

Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Wilted Swiss Chard 

4 chicken cutlets (about 1 pound total)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup flour
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup panko
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 whole anchovies, preferably white
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems thinly sliced, leaves cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoon lemon juice

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

As a freelance food writer and cook, I first wrote this style of recipe as a column on my blog, The Wright Recipes, as an excuse to cook good food for my friends in a quick and simple way. 

Twenty-Dollar, Twenty-Minute™ Meals grew into a cookbook that was published by Workman in May 2013. The recipes found here are original, made especially for Food52 to once again celebrate simple food with friends.

Photo by Caroline Wright