Lemon pepper chicken cutlets topped with Greek salad

A liiiitle more summer, please

Hello! Welcome back! Skip all the rambling and scroll right to the bottom of this post for a printer-friendly PDF of the recipe only.

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To know me is to know I love a chicken cutlet topped with some type of salad. A fancy slaw, a simple arugula mixture — anything will do. I think most meals can benefit from a side salad, and this formula of salad-topped cutlet just brings that side dish into the main to create something that’s satisfying in every bite. Salad! Chicken! Yum.

So, today’s recipe is a play on that old faithful that’s summery and vibrant: lemon pepper-spiked cutlets topped with a very fresh, crunchy Greek salad. It’s beyond refreshing, with tons of flavor in every layer.

Tell me more

One thing I love about chicken cutlets is you can add as much flavor to them as you like. Love dumping in every spice in your spice drawer? Go for it. Prefer to keep it simple with just a few? Same. Want to be lazy and forego adding in anything altogether? Do that, or buy seasoned breadcrumbs.

I personally like to keep it simple, so I usually don’t add more than a few extras to my breadcrumbs. Today, that’s lemon zest and freshly ground black pepper, which bring to mind lemon-pepper seasoning. It adds an undeniably fresh zing to the cutlets that plays so well with a fairly traditional take on Greek salad — fresh veggies, olives, herbs, and feta, along with a lemon-based dressing. I really hope this will make it into your regular dinner rotation, because it definitely deserves a spot there.

Before we start

• Anytime I post a chicken cutlet recipe, I get messages and comments from people who either feel very strongly about not using flour when dredging their cutlets, or feel very strongly that it’s a necessary step. I’ve always used it, but am not opposed to trying something new — especially if it means eliminating ingredients and cooking steps. I tested these cutlets both ways and found that the cutlets that were first dredged in flour turned out crispier, with the breading less likely to flake off in clumps. So, I’m sticking to that.

• Speaking of cutlets, I fry mine in extra virgin olive oil. I’ll use either one that’s specifically marked as good for cooking, or one of the cheaper ones in my collection — not a good finishing oil. You can also use avocado, canola, peanut, etc. Chef’s choice.

• Yes, you can air fry instead. Instructions are in the Notes section after the recipe.

• I think this salad tastes best super fresh. An ideal order of events would be to prep the salad (add all ingredients to the bowl, minus the dressing), make the cutlets, then toss the salad with the dressing right before serving. Leaving it mixed for too long leads to the tomatoes releasing all their juices, which makes for a very juicy salad.

The recipe

Serves: 4

Cook time: 30 minutes