This is one of my favorites. In the late 90s, Mom began making pizzaole for Christmas dinner. Colleen has modified the recipe to use chicken, now referred to as “chickenaole” which is a great adjustment for our non-mammal eating friends.
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 medium chopped onion
- olive oil
- white wine
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- oregano
Meat
- 1 pound, thinly sliced veal (or 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced or pounded thin – 1/4 of an inch)
- 2 cups, plain bread crumbs, preferably homemade
- 1/2 cup, grated romano cheese
- 2 eggs, beaten
- a small handful of fresh parsley, chopped
- salt and black pepper to taste
- olive oil
- pimento stuffed green olives, sliced in half
- anchovies, cut into bits
Instructions
- Create a fast pizza sauce by sauteing the onion in olive oil in a medium sauce or frying pan. Add white wine and salt and pepper. Add crushed tomatoes and oregano. Simmer for about 20 minutes while you are preparing the veal.
- Place bread crumbs in a shallow bowl. Add cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper to the breadcrumbs and mix. Place olive oil in a separate shallow bowl.
- Dip the meat in olive oil (drain and run fingers over to lightly coat), then in breadcrumbs.
- Place the breaded meat side by side in a greased baking pan. Spoon the sauce over the cutlets, covering completely. Place a few olives per cutlet randomly. Anchovies should be cut into 1/4 inch bits. Dot the tops of the cutlets with bits of anchovy. Sprinkle more oregano over the top.
- Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Tip on Buying Veal for this Recipe
As my mother would say, “In California, they don’t know from cutlets.” You have to ask for veal scallopini at the meat counter.
Otherwise, the meat is cut too thick. If you do get cutlets, place them between sheets of waxed paper and pound them thin with a mallet.
Tips on Substituting Chicken
Using chicken instead of veal has a lot of benefits. Not only is it a healthier, less expensive alternative, but it’s also more likely that you will have chicken on hand. That makes “chickenaole” a special meal you can make any night of the week! And leftovers are great cold as a sandwich!
