I lived many years in London and when I returned to Italy in 2003 I discovered the chicken spinach cutlets which didn’t exist in my childhood home. Needless to say my son tried them right away and ate them many times during the five years we stayed in Italy. The only good thing is that I’ve always baked them in the oven and never fried them even if they are often prefried in supermarkets and so…
Just like ready-made chicken croquettes, the spinach cutlets you buy at the supermarket are probably made with leftover chicken and turkey scraps (or worse) and I don’t even want to imagine whether the spinach is “real” or GMO. These are the reasons I already made the Light Chicken Croquettes and why I was motivated to make the spinach cutlets at home with ingredients I bought myself.
The result was a meal for children (and adults) that is light but also nutritious and healthy, and very tasty: my son “slurped” them all saying there isn’t much difference for him. Of course he ate them with his favorite side dish: Crispy Fries!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Budget
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 3 cutlets
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 5 oz skinless, trimmed chicken breast
- 7 cups fresh spinach
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs (preferably coarse-grated like Panko *)
- 1 tsp mixed dried herbs (such as garlic powder, rosemary, oregano, thyme, parsley, sage…)
- 1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- as needed spray oil (a few sprays will be enough **)
- Points per cutlet = 3 WW points
Tools
- Oil sprayer
Preparation
Wash the spinach and put it in a pot with a very small amount of water. Let it wilt, then drain well, cool and squeeze out the excess liquid.
Cut the chicken into pieces and process it in an electric food processor until minced. Add the spinach, 2 teaspoons of Parmesan, salt and pepper and blend well in the processor. Give a final stir by hand and transfer to a plate.
Prepare the breadcrumbs, Panko or coarse breadcrumbs, the remaining Parmesan and all the spices in another container mixing them well. Put the oil in a separate small plate and proceed to form the cutlets.
Make small meatballs with the chicken and spinach mixture and flatten them like small burgers: for this step wet your hands with a little water since the mixture is very soft and sticks to dry hands.
Dip the cutlets first in the oil and then coat them well with the crumbs, pressing them down to adhere.
Here are the cutlets ready to go into the oven. If desired at this point you can pack them well in proper bags ready to be frozen.
Preheat the oven to 428°F-482°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and lightly spray it with spray oil. As you bread the cutlets, place them on the parchment. Finally spray them with the oil spray and bake.
After 8-10 minutes check that a bit of crust has formed and flip the cutlets. Bake for another 4-5 minutes. Cooking depends a lot on the oven: the temperature must be high to obtain a crust but don’t overcook the chicken otherwise it will become dry.
To compose a complete and tasty meal, serve with sliced tomatoes seasoned with basil and balsamic vinegar and for carbohydrates add some slices of bread or a portion of Crispy Fries.
Unfortunately my son doesn’t give up ketchup when I make croquettes or chicken spinach cutlets but I recommend looking for some homemade ketchup recipes — I will have to experiment with some.
Try them and let me know in the comments at the bottom of the recipe if you liked them.
Enjoy your meal!
by Giovanna Buono
Notes on ingredients
(*) Panko is a type of breadcrumb widely used in Japanese cooking to coat and give more crunch to fried foods. It is simply white bread (like American sandwich bread) without crust, toasted and then coarsely grated. You can find recipes to make it at home or buy it in international food stores.
(**) I often use oil in spray form because it gives me more control over the amount of oil I use. If you find oil already in spray form that’s fine; otherwise I suggest finding suitable bottles and filling them with your preferred oil.
