COOKING ON DEADLINE: Pork Schnitzel with Cucumber Salad

Schnitzels are often made with veal or chicken, but pork is a great alternative. Pounding out the cutlets makes them even thinner and more tender, so they cook up quickly, perfect for a weeknight meal. And there’s that irresistible crunch from the Panko bread-crumb coating. This is one of those heartening dishes that’s popular with both kids and adults.
The tangy, quickly pickled cucumbers and onions make a great counterpoint to the lightly fried pork cutlets. You could definitely use dried dill instead of fresh if it’s easier.
Also, yes, they’re called seedless cucumbers, but of course there are still a nominal amount of seeds in them. Removing the seeds gives the salad a nicer texture, without the slightly slimy consistency of the seeds, and helps reduce any wateriness in the salad.
A little tip: Double the cucumber salad next time you are serving a bagel and smoked salmon spread — it’s a great side for a brunch of any sort, especially as a foil to smoked fish.
PORK SCHNITZEL WITH QUICK, PICKLEY CUCUMBER SALAD
Start to finish:
30 minutes
Quick Pickley Cucumber Salad:
1 seedless cucumber, peeled if desired
½ red onion, very thinly sliced
2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
½ tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. minced fresh dill (preferable) or 1 teaspoon dried dill
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pork Schnitzel:
4 ½-inch (4 ounce) thick boneless pork chops
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole milk
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tsp. finely minced fresh thyme
2 to 4 Tbsp olive oil
Slice cucumber in half lengthwise, use a teaspoon to scoop out seeds, and slice cucumbers into thin half-moons.
Place sliced cucumber and onion in a colander and toss with salt. Let sit for 10 minutes, then rinse cucumber and onion in very cold water and, using your hands, squeeze vegetables to remove as much water as possible. Place mixture in a clean dishtowel, roll up, and twist and squeeze to remove as much water as possible again.
In a serving bowl, stir together vinegar, sugar, dill and pepper. Add cucumber and onion ,and toss to combine. Hold in fridge.
Place each pork chop between two pieces of plastic wrap and use a rolling pin (or bottle of wine) to gently pound pork chops until they are of an even thickness between ¼- and 1/3-inch thick.
Place flour in a shallow bowl, milk in another shallow bowl, and Panko in a third shallow bowl. Season flour and milk lightly with salt and pepper. Stir thyme into Panko.
Season pork lightly with salt and pepper, then dip each piece into flour, shaking off any excess, and then into milk, then Panko, pressing so that bread crumbs adhere to pork. Place breaded pork on a plate or wire rack.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet until hot. Cook pork for about 3 minutes on each side until golden brown and just cooked through; you will probably need to do this in at least two batches, adding more oil for the second batch as needed.
When pieces of pork are cooked, place them briefly on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Serve pork with the Quick Pickley Cucumber Salad.
Serves 2 to 4
Nutrition information per serving:
Quick Pickley Cucum-ber Salad: 29 calories; 0 calories from fat; 0 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 481 mg sodium; 7 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 2 g protein.
Pork Schnitzel: 362 calories; 197 calories from fat; 22 g fat (6 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 68 mg cholesterol; 596 mg sodium; 14 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 26 g protein.
—Katie Workman has written two cookbooks focused on easy, family-friendly cooking, “Dinner Solved!” and “The Mom 100 Cookbook.”