Adventures in 30 Minute Meals

[fenchurch]

So, I decided to try another meal from 365: No Repeats by Rachael Ray:

Rosemary, Parmigiano and Pine Nut Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Fennel Slaw

2 fennel bulbs
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (2 generous handfuls), chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (eyeball it)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (eyeball it)
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 cup Italian-style bread crumbs (eyeball it)
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped off stems
1 garlic clove, peeled
3 ounces pine nuts
2 eggs
1.5 pounds chicken breast cutlets
3 to 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
vegetable oil, for shallow frying

Fennel Slaw
Cut both bulbs of fennel into quarters. Remove the core from each quarter with an angled cut into each piece. Slice the fennel across into super-thin pieces and add to a salad bowl. Add the bell peppers, carrots, onions, parsley, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and the juice of 1/2 lemon. Toss to coat and let the slaw marinate while you prepare the chicken.

Breaded Chicken
Combine the bread crumbs, Parmigiano, red pepper flakes, rosemary, garlic, pine nuts and lemon zest in a food processor and pulse to evenly distribute the flavors throughout the crumb and cheese mixture. Transfer the mixture to a plate. Beat the eggs in a separate shallow dish with a splash of water. Season the cutlets with salt and pepper on both sides and turn lightly in the flour.

Heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Coat the seasoned and floured cutlets in egg mixture and then in breading and add to the hot oil. Cooked the cutlets in a single layer, in multiple batches if necessary, for about 3 or 4 minutes on each side, until the juices run clear and the breading is evenly browned. Place on a draining rack.

Squeeze the juice of the remaining 1/2 lemon over the cutlets. Serve the chicken cutlets with a generous portion of fennel slaw on top or on the side.

Now tell me, does that sound even remotely like it can be done in only 30 minutes?!?! The Fennel Slaw ALONE took me half an hour. I can't believe it's just because I suck that badly at fast chopping! Don't get me wrong, it was absolutely delicious and I'd do it again... though maybe with a little more advanced planning, so it won't be one huge long cooking session.

Even if you don't want to go through all the bother for the chicken cutlets, I highly recommend the Fennel Slaw. Surprisingly yummy!! Especially since I'd never actually worked with fresh fennel before.

Comments

[rahirah]

Well, maybe it takes half an hour if you have a staff to do all your chopping for you?

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

I think I'm finally going to get around to buying a mandoline in the next week or so, which I suspect will help with making these sorts of things go much faster (particularly the slaw). I do still chop a bit slowly, too, since my arms wear out faster than they used to.

[sfdave.livejournal.com]

Watch your fingers.

[julietvalcouer.livejournal.com]

What he said. There's a reason chefs compare scars. (Although most of mine are oven and pan burns.)

Eh. If I used a food processor for the slaw (and not being a purist Nazi I have no problem doing that for a slaw) and didn't bother with one for mixing the crumbs, yeah, I could probably do it in 30 minutes. But I hate pan-frying. Deep-frying too, actually. Right royal pain in the ass and makes a mess everywhere.

[adjrun.livejournal.com]

No kidding. My father-in-law had to have the tip of his index finger reattached after a mandoline incident.

They come with a guard for a REASON, people!

[zola.livejournal.com]

Heh... it would take me a half an hour, I bet. It's.. having the right tools and knowing the little tricks, I think. Like to strip the leaves off the rosemary? You grab it between your thumb and index finger and just scrape your fingernails down the stem. Usually only takes a swipe or two.

A cleaver chops faster than a paring knife... only use your paring knife for peeling or getting the eyes out of potatoes or making precise cuts like with your fennel.

Parsley is fast with a cleaver. Take your bunch, trim the stems, give it a good rinse in water, lay it on the board and make some cross cuts. Should take all of 30 seconds.

Garlic peels in a millisecond if you give the clove a good whack with the flat of your cleaver and crush it a little.

Cut the pepper in half, top and all, then you can just grab the structure with seeds in it with your fingers and pull it out in one piece and do the same with the top, you just rip it out, then a quick rinse in cold water to get rid of any lingering seeds and you're ready to slice it up with the cleaver, which does it in one cut...I haven't dealt with fennel, really, but I bet the cleaver would do it faster since it's got the nice wide blade...

Put your flour in a paper lunch sack, add some salt and pepper. Do one or two cutlets at a time, just shake them until coated. She says shallow dish for the egg mixture. I say use a plate as long as it's not so flat the egg mixture will run out. Put some of the breadcrumbs mixture on another plate. Lay as many cutlets as will fit in the pan on the plate, flip them over so they are coated with the egg on both sides, drop them into the bread crumbs and flip again, and straight into your pan. While they start cooking, you can flour the next batch and let them sit in the bag until you are ready for them.

This, I think, is where cooking with friends is the absolute best. I worked in food service for some years and learned all kinds of neat things--you ought to see me tend to a couple of heads of lettuce for salad: I can do enough lettuce for fifty people in about ten minutes--and your friends generally have their own tricks and they will show you. I remember working with another friend in food service and we slammed out an incredible quantity of salad fixings in a very short time with our knowledge pooled.

I picked up a lot of the cleaver stuff from doing stir-frys because if you don't, you'll be fussing with the cutting forever, LOL!

Hope you find at least one or two of my tips useful.

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I actually use my chef's knife for most chopping (I keep it nice and sharp and find that it does an excellent job of getting through just about anything), though I'm hoping to pick up a santoku knife before long. We've also been considering getting a mandoline for awhile now and I'm thinking I may use a gift card I got for my birthday for just that purpose... it would certainly make things like slaw a whole lot easier to do!

As for the garlic trick, I use that constantly now... to the point where I can't imagine how I ever managed garlic before I learned it! I've been watching so much Food Network it isn't funny... and it's rubbed off on me something fierce.

I really do think I'm just slow with the chopping right now. I'm still dealing with some issues in my shoulders due to that car accident (seven frickin' months ago *grumble*grumble*) and any dish with intensive chopping tends to grind to a halt pretty quickly for me. I'm usually good for one or two items and then I have to step back for a bit or just take it really slow. It's very frustrating.

Of course, my favorite solution is to just wait until rackham is home so he can help me... we love cooking together when time allows.

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

That does sound tasty but I don't think I could tackle it in 30 minutes. And I tend to use a chef's knife to chop as well although I have a small mandoline I really don't use it that often. I'm kind of a low tech person but if you're still bothered by the shoulder then I'd definitely look into one. Just remember to always use the guard and it wouldn't hurt to wear a heavy glove either.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I would just put the fennel in hunks through the slicing disc of my food processor followed by all the other slaw ingredients - it's how I chop cabbage etc. so it would work fine I reckon - time for chopping then becomes about three minutes!

It sounds very good. Goes away to put recipe in my recipe file.

[allthatjazmyne.livejournal.com]

I've seen RR prepare this one, and she does chop really fast. I'm getting faster, though, especially when I remember to keep my knife sharp. I have a small, cheap mandoline, and I almost never use it. Honestly, the knife is easier to wash. When I first had the mandoline, though, I used it a lot, and I cut off a large chunk of my right index finger. Use the safety guard.

Remember, RR is a bit hyperactive, and works at top speed. I usually take about 40 minutes to make one of her recipes, and that's usually only if I've done it before, or if I watched her do it on the show.

I've never tried fresh fennel. I'll think about that.