Chicken Schnitzel with Fried Potatoes

Preparation

1. Step 1

   To prepare the potatoes: Place the whole potatoes in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the potatoes meets slight resistance in the center. (It is better to undercook than overcook the potatoes. They will finish cooking when you fry them, but if they are overcooked they will break into little pieces during frying.) Cool the potatoes slightly and peel.

   Step 2

   Peel the onion and dice it into 1/4-to 1/2-inch pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and then cut into 1/8-to 1/4-inch-thick slices. Add the potatoes to the pan and cook, turning occasionally with a spatula, for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. (The potatoes will stick to the pan initially, but as they brown they will be easier to loosen. If the pan becomes too dry after the potatoes have been turned, take the pan away from the heat, drizzle a little more oil around the edges of the pan, and continue cooking.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.

   Step 3

   Meanwhile, prepare the chicken: Cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise. Place a chicken breast half in a large resealable bag or between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet (a small saucepan also works well) until it is less than 1/4 inch thick. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper.

   Step 4

   Whisk the eggs in a shallow bowl. Combine the flour, the 1 teaspoon of salt, and the 1/2 teaspoon of pepper in another shallow bowl.

   Step 5

   Place a large sauté pan over medium heat and add enough oil to the pan to create a 1/8-inch-thick layer.

   Step 6

   Dip both sides of a chicken breast into the flour, then into the egg, and back into the flour. Carefully place the chicken breast into the hot oil and repeat the process until the pan is full. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is golden brown. Transfer the chicken to paper towels to drain and continue with the remaining chicken breasts. (If it takes more than 2 batches, drain the used oil out of the pan, wipe out the pan, and start with fresh oil or the chicken will taste burnt.)

   Step 7

   Overlap 2 pieces of chicken on each plate and spoon some of the potatoes next to the chicken. Cut the lemon into 8 wedges and place 2 wedges on each plate.

2. Kitchen Vocab

   Step 8

   Cooking the onions the way they are cooked here is called sweating. It is usually done with a small amount of butter or oil over medium or low heat. Unlike sautéing, when you sweat foods you don’t want them to brown. In this recipe, we sweat the onions first to bring out their sweetness because they are going to brown with the potatoes, and we don’t want them to get burnt.

3. Kitchen safety

   Step 9

   Cross contamination occurs when raw meat or poultry comes in contact with ready-to-eat foods. Raw meat and poultry can contain bacteria, which are eliminated when they are cooked. But, ready-to-eat foods are not cooked and therefore, the bacteria will remain on the food. In this recipe for example, if you cut the chicken breasts with a knife and later cut the lemon with the same knife or on the same cutting board, you will contaminate the lemon with the bacteria from the chicken. Cross contamination is one of the leading causes of food poisoning, but it is easy to avoid by simply washing any utensils that come in contact with raw food, in this case, the knife, cutting board, and your hands, with hot, soapy water before working with any other foods.