Throughout August in Melbourne, we're all looking for some deeply satisfying meals to get us through the winter. This recipe uses beyond-free-range pork cutlets which are incredibly juicy and tender, so you can't really go wrong. The seasoned crust turns a nutty brown from being cooked in butter and pairs perfectly with the fresh, lightly pickled fennel salad.
Ingredients:
1 fennel bulb
Juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp basil, roughly chopped
1 tbsp mint, roughly chopped
500g pork cutlets
1C panko crumb
1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
rind from 1 lemon
2 tbsp parmesan, grated
1/2C plain flour
1 egg, whisked
1 tbsp milk
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
Method:
Use a mandolin or cut the fennel as thinly as you can.
Mix with the lemon juice, sprinkle some salt, stir and set aside.
Using a meat mallet, flatten each pork cutlet until it is around 1cm thick.
To make the crumb, mix the panko crumbs, parmesan, lemon rind and parsley in a bowl with 1 tsp salt and freshly ground pepper.
Put the flour in another bowl and season.
Lightly coat the pork cutlets with flour and dust off any excess, then coat in the egg wash and finally the crumb.
To finish the salad, add in the basil and mint and taste for seasoning.
Heat olive oil and butter in a pan on medium heat and once the butter begins to foam, add in the cutlets.
Cook for around 4 minutes on each side or until golden, but be careful not to burn the crumb.
The best way to know if the pork is cooked is by using a meat thermometer where it should read around 60 degrees celsius. After resting the meat for 5 minutes it should be perfect.
Serve the pork and sprinkle some salt on top. Pile on the fennel salad and a wedge of lemon.
