Weeknight Cooking

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken With Herby Potatoes

June 13, 2024
5
8 Ratings
Photo by Julia Gartland. Food Stylist: Anna Billingskog. Prop Stylist: Amanda Widis.
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 40 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

Consider these simple Parmesan-crusted chicken cutlets the cold-weather equivalent to a classic summery Milanese topped with a bright green salad—only bulked up with potatoes and a generous amount of hearty herbs fit for fall. It makes a simple dinner that comes together relatively quickly, and can be riffed on in several ways. Feel free to change up the herbs, omit the onion, or even use thinly sliced pork cutlets in place of the chicken. It’s a fuss-free recipe, so don’t be too precious about it. —Jesse Szewczyk

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Ingredients
  • Potato salad
  • 3/4 pound fingerling potatoes, cut in half horizontally (about 2 cups)
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 cup parsley leaves, packed
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped dill, packed
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Chicken cutlets
  • 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds total)
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges
  • Flaky sea salt, for garnish
Directions
  1. Prep the potato salad: Place potatoes and a generous pinch of salt in a large pot and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Strain potatoes and let cool at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the cooled potatoes with the sliced onion, parsley, and dill. Set aside.
  3. Make the dressing: In a small bowl combine the olive oil, lemon juice, pepper, Dijon mustard, and salt. Whisk until emulsified and set aside.
  4. Make the chicken cutlets: Carefully slice each chicken breast in half horizontally so you end up with four thin cutlets. Place each of the four cutlets between two pieces of wax paper and gently pound them with a mallet until they are roughly 1/4-inch thick. Set aside.
  5. In a large shallow bowl, combine the flour, salt, paprika, and black pepper. In a second large shallow bowl, beat the eggs. In a third large shallow bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.
  6. Working with one chicken cutlet at a time, dredge them in the flour mixture, then the eggs, and coat each side in the breadcrumbs. Place breaded cutlets onto a plate.
  7. Heat olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Fry the cutlets, one at a time, until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining chicken cutlets, adding additional olive oil to the skillet as needed, and transfer onto four serving plates.
  8. Serve: Toss prepared potato salad mixture with dressing. Distribute salad on top of each of the four chicken cutlets, garnish with flaky sea salt, and serve with lemon wedges.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

3 Reviews

candace May 7, 2024
Why not dress potatoes while still warm? That way they absorb the flavor better.
Monica February 20, 2023
I loved this and had all but potatoes, lemon, and fresh herbs on hand to make it! Nice amount of acid in the salad and the chicken was incredible.
norineluker September 5, 2022
This is unquestionably our current favorite. I make it more or less as the recipe says, but somewhere the author said it's not fussy, so adjusting quantities a little really doesn't make a big deal. The important ratios are panko/parmesan for the crust and the dressing for the potatoes. I usually substitute dried dill weed for fresh. I have used any kind of potato more or less cut to size. My husband really likes to have italian green beans along with this. While this is really easy and fast to make, it does use a lot of dishes and pots and pans, so allow time for cleanup.