This salad is a lovely and light “one platter” meal for those hot summer days. The warmth of the cutlets over the chilled baby spinach, cooks the leaves slightly, allowing you to bite into a refreshing combination of textures — soft and crunchy. I first served this on a hot day in Italy, and was taken by not only the beauty of the fabulous colors on the platter, but also the lemony and nutty flavors of the greens. Arugula can be substituted for the spinach, which will give it a more “peppery” flavor. Accompanied by a freshly made basket of rolls, you now have an elegant lunch. Andiamo Mangiare!

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Summertime Spinach and Turkey Cutlet Salad

SERVINGS 6 CHANGE SERVING SIZE

COOK TIME 20mins

PREP TIME 20mins

READY IN 1hr

Ingredients

• Salad Ingredients
• 2 pkgs. turkey cutlets, boneless (or 6 individual)
• 1 avocado sliced
• 2 mangoes peeled and sliced
• 1/2 pint raspberries
• orange or red pepper sliced
• 1/4 onion(s) red, thinly sliced
• blackberries cherries, or other fruit for garnishing (ex. kiwi, strawberries, orange segments)
• 1 container baby spinach or arugula
• Onion salt
• 2 oz. Parmesan cheese fresh
• 1/3 cup olive oil + 1 tbsp butter for frying
• Dressing
• lemon juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• honey to taste
• Coating for Cutlets
• 1 cup Panko crumbs (I used whole wheat)
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
• 1/2 tsp season salt
• 1/2 tsp thyme leaves dried
• 1/2 tsp oregano dried
• 1/3 cup parsley fresh

Instructions

1. Make your coating for the cutlets according to instructions above
2. Salad Dressing: Mix all ingredients in a jar and shake well to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
3. Coating for Cutlets: Combine all of the above in a blender until fine crumbs are made – adjust seasonings to taste If cutlets are thick, pound with meat hammer until the cutlets are about ¼” thick. Put coating mixture in a small pan and coat both sides of the cutlets well with the crumbs.
4. Coat the bottom of a cast iron or other heavy duty skillet with olive oil and 1 Tablespoon of butter (to prevent burning) and heat. Once sizzling, reduce the heat to medium, add the cutlets and brown on both sides. Tip: don’t turn the cutlets over until they are ready to “release” from the pan or else all the coating will come off the cutlet!
5. Meanwhile, prepare your vegetables and fruit for the salad (slicing etc)
6. Fill the bottom of your serving platter w/ the baby spinach and toss lightly with the dressing and then a sprinkling of onion salt and fresh parmesan cheese (or dress in a bowl and transfer to platter afterwards).
7. Once the cutlets are cooked and while they are still warm, lay them over the bed of baby spinach, overlapping slightly to create some height in the center of your platter. Your baby spinach is going to cook slightly from the heat of the warm cutlets.
8. Creatively, arrange your fruit and vegetables on top of the meat, and finish with a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan cheese and red onion.
9. Serve while the cutlets are still warm.