Chicken Schnitzels with Watercress, Cucumber, Radish Salad

Years ago when I was a college student studying in Europe, I tasted Wiener Schnitzel for the first time in Vienna, the city whose name is part of the title of this Austrian favorite. . Fried in butter until crisp and golden, then served with a lemon wedge, these thinly sliced breaded veal cutlets seemed to melt in my mouth. For years I made this dish with veal, but then discovered that chicken works equally well. I added some contemporary touches to this new version by including smoked paprika along with the usual salt and pepper seasonings, replacing traditional bread crumbs with panko (coarse Japanese bread crumbs), and opting for canola oil instead of butter for frying.

Chicken Schnitzels with Watercress, Cucumber, Radish Salad

4 chicken cutlets, 6 to 8 ounces each and about 1/4 inch thick (See note.)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cups panko (See note.)
3/4 cup flour
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika (See note.)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Canola oil
4 thick lemon wedges

Salad
1 bunch watercress, tough base stems cut off and discarded
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded, and thinly sliced
5 radishes, cleaned and thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced to yield 3/4 cup
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

1. Place cutlets in a shallow nonreactive dish and toss with lemon juice to coat well. Marinate 30 minutes at room temperature. Meanwhile
preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

2. Spread panko crumbs and flour on separate large plates. Lightly beat egg and milk in a shallow dish. Pat cutlets dry with paper towels. Combine paprika, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl; season each cutlet on both sides with spice mixture. Dredge each cutlet in flour, then dip in egg mixture, then coat with panko crumbs.

3. Add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of a large heavy skillet, and set over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Saute enough
cutlets to fit comfortably in a single layer until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove to a baking sheet, and place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining cutlets, adding more oil if necessary.

4. For salad, toss together watercress, cucumber, radishes, and onion in a medium bowl. Whisk vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt,1/4
teaspoon pepper, and olive oil in a small bowl. Toss salad with enough vinaigrette to coat lightly (You may have some left over.)
Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Top each chicken cutlet with a lemon wedge and garnish with some salad. Serves 4.

Notes: Chicken cutlets can be made by butter-flying boneless chicken breast halves. With a sharp knife held parallel to work surface, halve a breast horizontally starting at the thicker side and not cutting all the way through. You can also ask your butcher to butterfly the breasts for you.

Both panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and smoked paprika are available in many supermarkets.

© Copyright Betty Rosbottom 2012

Print This Recipe Print This Recipe

5 thoughts on “Chicken Schnitzels with Watercress, Cucumber, Radish Salad

  1. Omg! Both these recipes were fantastic Betty!
    You mentioned an Italian chicken breast recipe served over pasta. Is it in this blog, or is it something you can share? I was looking for a chicken breast recipe to entertain family with.

    • Hi Stacy, Thank you so much for such a nice message1 I’m glad you liked those chicken schnitzels so much! I looked over the post but can’t
      find any reference to a chicken and pasta dish. Do you remember where you saw it–perhaps in another post. Let me know so I can check on the
      recipe for you! Betty

      • Hi Betty! It’s in the blog post Quick and easy for weeknights, Roasted salmon on a bed of shiitakes. You didn’t post the recipe but mentioned an Italian chicken breast recipe with white wine and over pasta. Do you have a specific recipe for it, i’m not creative! By the way I’m a graduate of The Ohio State University, but I was not a cooking major!!!
        Thank you !

        • Hi Stacy,
          I found the post where I mentioned the chicken, but I don’t have a recipe for it on my blog, but it’s very simple: I use chicken cutlets (thin slices of breast) and marinate them in a little lemon juice and olive oil for about 30 min, I pat the cutlets dry and season with salt and pepper and often some dried oregano. Then I quickly pan fry the chicken in olive oil until lightly browned on both sides (only a few min per side) I remove them from the pan and add some white wine, chicken stock and capers and cook down mixture until reduced slightly (you can adjust to taste by adding extra stock or wine as you desire). I serve the chicken over pasta (linguine or fettuccine) that is tossed with butter and Parmesan cheese. I hope this helps! Betty

Leave a Reply to Stacy Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.