Ingredients
Milanesas
- 4 slicesof topside or eye round, 1 cm thick (about 150 g each)
- 2large eggs
- 3garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
- 3 tbspflat parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tspfine salt
- ½ tspblack pepper
- 250 gfine dry breadcrumbs (pan rallado)
- 600 mlsunflower oil for frying
Napolitana topping
- 300 mlsalsa fileto (tomato passata simmered 20 min with 1 sliced onion, 1 bay leaf and 1 tsp sugar)
- 8thin slices cooked ham
- 300 gmozzarella or queso cremoso, sliced 5 mm thick
- 1 tspdried oregano
To serve
- 500 gpotatoes, cut into 1 cm chips and fried
- 1lemon, in wedges
Directions
- Lay each slice between two sheets of film and beat it out with a mallet or the flat of a heavy pan to an even 5 mm; thin and uniform matters more than large, because a thick cutlet steams inside its crust.
- Beat the eggs with the garlic paste, parsley, salt and pepper in a wide dish and turn the cutlets in it. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, ideally overnight, so the garlic perfumes the meat.
- Lift each cutlet, let the excess egg run off, then press it firmly into the breadcrumbs on both sides, pressing with the heel of your hand so the crumb bonds. Rest the breaded cutlets on a rack for 15 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a wide pan to 170°C (350°F), deep enough to float the milanesa. Fry one or two at a time for 2 to 3 minutes a side, until deep gold and the crumb crackles when tapped.
- Drain on a rack, never on paper, so the underside stays crisp. Lay the milanesas on an oven tray.
- Spoon a few tablespoons of hot salsa fileto over each, then a slice or two of ham, then the cheese, then a pinch of oregano over the top.
- Grill under a hot oven grill or bake at 220°C (425°F) for 5 to 7 minutes, until the cheese has melted and blistered but the tomato has not dried out.
- Serve immediately with a mound of chips and a lemon wedge, before the crust softens under the sauce.
Technique
- The name has nothing to do with Naples. The dish was improvised in the 1940s at Buenos Aires restaurant Napoli, near the Luna Park arena, when a burnt cutlet was disguised under sauce and cheese; that origin story is repeated by the family and is the accepted one.
- The overnight egg-and-garlic soak is the step home cooks skip and Argentine cooks never do. It seasons the meat all the way through and helps the crumb grip.
- Frying then topping keeps the crust intact. If you top a raw-crumbed cutlet and bake it from cold, you get a soft, pallid milanesa.
Substitutions
- Chicken breast, butterflied and beaten out, gives milanesa de pollo a la napolitana; a 2 cm slice of aubergine, salted and drained, gives the meatless milanesa de berenjena served in every porteno bodegon.
Variations
- A la suiza: the tomato is left out and the cutlet is covered with ham and cheese only.
- Napolitana a caballo tops the whole thing with a fried egg.
History
Created in 1940s Buenos Aires at the restaurant Napoli near Luna Park, whose owner covered a scorched cutlet with tomato and cheese.
Frequently asked questions
What is Milanesa a la napolitana?
Milanesa a la napolitana is a main from Argentina: breaded cutlet topped with tomato sauce, ham and melted cheese. Created in 1940s Buenos Aires at the restaurant Napoli near Luna Park, whose owner covered a scorched cutlet with tomato and cheese.
How long does Milanesa a la napolitana take to make?
Milanesa a la napolitana takes 35 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Milanesa a la napolitana?
Yes, within limits. Chicken breast, butterflied and beaten out, gives milanesa de pollo a la napolitana; a 2 cm slice of aubergine, salted and drained, gives the meatless milanesa de berenjena served in every porteno bodegon.
What is the most important thing to get right in Milanesa a la napolitana?
Drain on a rack, never on paper, so the underside stays crisp. Lay the milanesas on an oven tray.
