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Veal Cutlets with Olives and Cheese
Instructions
For flavoured oil that will make the cutlets especially tasty, you can add 2–3 crushed garlic cloves, a piece of chilli pepper or a sprig of rosemary to the vegetable oil the day before. Over 24 hours the oil absorbs the aromas and gives the cutlets a refined flavour. If you are short of time, use ordinary refined oil.
Pour 3/4 cup of milk (about 180 ml) into a deep bowl and add slices of the loaf with the crusts removed. Leave for 5–7 minutes to soak fully – the bread should absorb all the milk and turn into a soft, even mass. Soaked bread makes the cutlets more tender and juicy and keeps them from drying out.
Rinse the veal (500–600 g), pat it dry with paper towels and cut it into pieces ready for mincing. Choose lean cuts – fillet or shoulder. Peel the onion (80 g) and cut it into large pieces. Peel the carrot (100 g) and cut it into pieces as well – it will add sweetness and juiciness to the cutlets.
Mince the veal together with the onion and carrot using a hand blender at high speed, or pass it through a meat grinder with a fine plate twice. The mince should be smooth, with no large pieces of meat – this gives the finished cutlets a tender texture. Homemade mince always tastes better than shop-bought.
Combine the minced meat with the soaked bread along with the remaining milk – do not squeeze out the bread, as the milk makes the cutlets juicier. Mix the mass thoroughly by hand for 2–3 minutes so that all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Break 1 chicken egg into the mince – it binds the mass and keeps the cutlets from falling apart while frying. The egg should be at room temperature for better mixing with the mince.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt and Italian herbs to taste (basil, oregano, thyme) – they go wonderfully with veal and olives. You can add a pinch of ground black pepper for extra piquancy.
Knead the mince thoroughly by hand for 3–4 minutes until it becomes smooth and slightly sticky – a sign that the proteins have bound the mass. From the finished mince, form thick patties the size of your palm – the mince should not stick to damp hands. If it does, add a little flour or wet your hands with water.
Prepare the filling: grate the hard cheese (70 g) on a fine grater – finely grated cheese melts faster inside the cutlet. Cut the pickled olives (100 g) into thin rings, removing the stones first. You can use stuffed olives: with pepper, anchovies or lemon.
Place a handful of grated cheese and a few rings of olives in the centre of each meat patty. Do not skimp on the filling – it gives the dish its main flavour accent. Make sure the filling does not spill over the edges of the patty.
Carefully lift the edges of the patty and pinch them together at the top, forming a rounded cutlet. Flatten it slightly with your palms to a thickness of about 2–2.5 cm – cutlets that are too thick will not cook through inside, and ones that are too thin will dry out. Heat a frying pan with 70 ml of vegetable oil over medium heat. Place the cutlets seam side down and fry for 5 minutes until golden, turn them over carefully, cover with a lid and braise over low heat for a further 10–15 minutes until fully cooked.
The veal cutlets with olives and cheese are ready! Serve them hot, while the cheese-and-olive filling is especially delicious and the cheese is still stringy. A cut cutlet looks very appetising – inside you can see rings of olives in melted cheese. Cold cutlets are tasty too – you can slice them for sandwiches or take them on a picnic.
Tips
- 1
The cheese for the filling should be sharp and hard (Parmesan, Pecorino, aged Cheddar) – it stretches beautifully when you cut into a hot cutlet and gives a rich flavour.
- 2
You can replace the green olives with black olives for a milder taste, or with sun-dried tomatoes for a bright tang – each option gives its own interesting result.
- 3
For juicier cutlets, add 2 tablespoons of cold water or a cube of butter to the mince – they create extra moisture inside.
- 4
Instead of frying in a pan, you can bake the cutlets in the oven at 180 °C for 25–30 minutes – they will be less greasy but just as tasty.
FAQ
What can I use instead of veal in this recipe? +
Use beef or a mixed mince (beef and pork in a 1:1 ratio). Veal is more tender and leaner, but beef also gives an excellent result. Chicken or turkey mince works for a lighter version.
Why did the cutlets fall apart while frying? +
The main reasons are: the mince was too wet – add more bread or an egg; the mince was not kneaded enough – the proteins did not bind the mass; there was too much filling – it tore through the shell. Make sure the edges of the patty are well pinched.
Can I freeze the stuffed cutlets? +
Yes, raw shaped cutlets freeze very well for up to 2 months. Lay them out on a board in a single layer, freeze them, then transfer them to a bag. Fry them straight from the freezer without thawing, increasing the cooking time by 5–7 minutes.
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