Today is officially marked as Bandoneón Day in Argentina as enacted by congresso in 2005 to mark the birth of Aníbal Troilo (aka Pichuco) in 1914, and considered to be master of masters of the instrument in the Golden Age of Tango in Argentina (1940s and 50s). Thus, I can wriggle out of my 9 de julio dilemma and present a classic Argentine dish – milanesa. As a boy, milanesa night was one of my favorites, but my mother made it far too rarely. Cotoletta alla Milanese is what it sounds like, a beef cutlet served as they cook it in Milan, but with a twist. It’s a version of Austrian wiener schnitzel, namely, a breaded cutlet that has been shallow fried. In Buenos Aires restaurants it is called a “minuta” – that is, something cooked to order quickly (in a minute), rather than a slow cooked dish like locro or guisa. No need for a formal recipe.
Begin by buying beef cutlets taken from the round or eye of round, without marbling or excess fat. Use a wooden kitchen mallet to pound the cutlets flat – about 1 cm thick or less. Prepare a bath of beaten eggs, finely chopped garlic, fresh parsley, salt, and freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl, and soak the cutlets in it for at least an hour – pressing and turning them for good coverage as needed.
Prepare a large tray of fresh breadcrumbs. Take each cutlet out of the egg bath and thoroughly coat them with breadcrumbs.
Place a large skillet on medium-high heat. When it is hot, add 1 cm of cooking oil, Heat the oil and then shallow fry the cutlets in small batches until they are evenly golden on both sides. Traditional accompaniment is a wedge of lemon plus ensalada mezcla (chopped lettuce, tomato, and onion dressed with olive oil). But . . . things can get a whole lot fancier.
Milanesa Fugazetta (ham, mozzarella, onion, olive, and oregano)
Milanesa a la Napolitana (ham, tomato sauce, and mozzarella melted)
Top them with a fried egg and they become “a caballo” (on horseback) or pop the freshy fried cutlet into a crusty bread roll and you have pan con milanesa which can be tarted up with the usual suspects – ham, tomato, lettuce, etc.
No one knows what is in Milanesa de la Casa in local bodegones (casual neighborhood restaurants).
Today is officially marked as Bandoneón Day in Argentina — enacted by congresso in 2005 to mark the birth of Aníbal Troilo (aka Pichuco) in 1914, who is considered to be master of masters of the instrument in the Golden Age of Tango in Argentina (1940s and 50s). Thus, I can wriggle out of my 9 de julio dilemma and present a classic Argentine dish – milanesa. As a boy, milanesa night was one of my favorites, but my mother made it far too rarely. Cotoletta alla Milanese is what it sounds like, a beef cutlet served as they cook it in Milan, but with a twist. It’s a version of Austrian wiener schnitzel, namely, a breaded cutlet that has been shallow fried. In Buenos Aires restaurants it is called a “minuta” – that is, something cooked to order quickly (in a minute), rather than a slow cooked dish like locro or guisa. No need for a formal recipe.
Begin by buying beef cutlets taken from the round or eye of round, without marbling or excess fat. Use a wooden kitchen mallet to pound the cutlets flat – about 1 cm thick or less. Prepare a bath of beaten eggs, finely chopped garlic, fresh parsley, salt, and freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl, and soak the cutlets in it for at least an hour – pressing and turning them for good coverage as needed.
Prepare a large tray of fresh breadcrumbs. Take each cutlet out of the egg bath and thoroughly coat them with breadcrumbs.
Place a large skillet on medium-high heat. When it is hot, add 1 cm of cooking oil, Heat the oil and then shallow fry the cutlets in small batches until they are evenly golden on both sides. Traditional accompaniment is a wedge of lemon plus ensalada mezcla (chopped lettuce, tomato, and onion dressed with olive oil). But . . . things can get a whole lot fancier.
Milanesa Fugazetta (ham, mozzarella, onion, olive, and oregano)
Milanesa a la Napolitana (ham, tomato sauce, and mozzarella melted)
Top them with a fried egg and they become “a caballo” (on horseback) or pop the freshy fried cutlet into a crusty bread roll and you have pan con milanesa which can be tarted up with the usual suspects – ham, tomato, lettuce, etc.
No one knows what is in Milanesa de la Casa in local bodegones (casual neighborhood restaurants).
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