Veal Valdostana

From the Alpine Aosta Valley in northern Italy comes this beautifully simple dish that proves you don’t need a complicated recipe to make something extraordinary.

Veal cutlets get the classic flour-egg-breadcrumb treatment, pan-fried until golden and crunchy, then topped with a slice of nutty Fontina cheese that melts under the broiler into a bubbly, stretchy cap.

A squeeze of fresh lemon cuts right through the richness and makes the whole plate pop.

It’s the kind of recipe that takes 35 minutes but tastes like you spent all afternoon in the kitchen.

Variations

• Chicken Valdostana: Thin chicken breast cutlets are the most common swap and work just as well.
• Prosciutto layer: Tuck a thin slice of prosciutto between the cutlet and cheese before broiling for a more traditional Valdostana.
• Mozzarella option: Fresh mozzarella works if Fontina is hard to find, though you’ll lose some of that nutty Alpine character.

Pro Tips

• Use one hand for dry ingredients and the other for wet during breading. Keeps you from ending up with breaded fingers instead of breaded veal.
• Press the breadcrumbs firmly onto the cutlets so the coating stays put during frying.
• Watch the broiler closely when melting the cheese. Fontina goes from perfectly bubbly to scorched in seconds.