Best Vitello Alla Francese

Veal francese is the Italian-American answer to French sole meunière. Thin veal cutlets get pounded paper-thin, dredged through flour and beaten egg, and pan-fried in plenty of butter until both sides are golden and lacy. The egg coating turns into something halfway between a crepe and a frittata as it crisps in the pan.

A quick squeeze of fresh lemon juice into the hot skillet pulls up the browned bits and turns into a five-second pan sauce that gets poured back over the veal. That’s it. No wine reduction, no cream, no demi-glace (just butter, eggs, lemon, and a fast hand at the stove).

Serve with spaghetti and marinara on the side, the way old-school Italian-American restaurants do, or with a simple lemony arugula salad if you want to keep things lighter.

Pro Tips

• Pound the cutlets to about ¼ inch thick. Thin veal cooks through in about 2 minutes per side, which is the whole point of the dish.
• Heat the butter until it foams but doesn’t brown. Browned butter scorches the egg coating and turns it bitter.
• Don’t crowd the pan. Cook in batches of 2 to 3 cutlets at a time so the butter stays hot enough to crisp the egg.
• Add the lemon juice off the heat, or it’ll scorch instantly. Swirl it through the residual butter and pour over.
• Use the freshest lemons you can find. Bottled juice tastes flat and ruins the pan sauce.

Variations

• Substitute thin chicken cutlets for a more affordable, equally classic chicken francese.
• Add 2 tablespoons of dry white wine to the pan with the lemon juice for a slightly more complex sauce.
• Stir in a tablespoon of capers with the lemon juice for a piccata-leaning twist.