Crispy Pork Cutlets with Capers and Sweet Pepper Jam

Even though it’s the end of tomato season, we still get a few more blessed weeks of sweet peppers.

This dish was inspired by something I had at Rich Table. They fused both a Caprese salad and a tonkatsu cutlet. In their version, they dress a crispy pork cutlet with some beautiful sliced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and a bright arugula salad. It’s really a full meal on a plate but if you were tempted to make it more substantial, I would add some creamy, cheese polenta as a side.

Since we’re at the end of the summer and low on ripe tomatoes, I decided to make a sweet pepper jam that’s flecked with a few capers. Sweet peppers are really at their peak at the end of the summer season so use them while you can! In the past, I have had luck canning this sauce in big batches. If you don’t have pork cutlets, this sweet pepper jam would be amazing over a piece of grilled or steamed white fish like cod or tossed into a pasta.

Ingredients for the Sweet Pepper Jam

• 10 sweet peppers, like Italian Carmen or Jimmy Nardello peppers, thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced

• 1 shallot, thinly sliced

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 tablespoon capers in brine, rinsed

• 2 tablespoons of white vinegar

• 1 teaspoon of hot sauce, like Crystal

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil

Ingredients for the Crispy Pork Cutlets

• 2 pork cutlets, roughly 1/2 lb each

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon of hot sauce

• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs

• Kosher salt and pepper to taste

• Vegetable or canola oil for pan frying

Serves 2

Directions

1. To prepare the sweet pepper jam, heat a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Sauté the shallots and garlic for one minute. Then, add the sliced sweet peppers and cherry tomatoes. After two minutes, add 1/4 cup of water to sweat out the sweet peppers. Cook the water out for five minutes uncovered. Finally, add the capers, seasonings, vinegar, and hot sauce. Stir to combine and set aside. The sweet peppers should be jammy; there shouldn’t be a lot of water in your pan.

2. Heat a half inch of vegetable oil in a sauté pan to 350 degrees while you prepare the breading station.

3. Using a mallet or a small sauce pan, flatten out the pork cutlets to 1/4 inch. I keep a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper in between the pork, mallet, and cutting board to reduce the mess. If your pork cutlet has a thick fat cap, feel free to trim this off.

4. Prepare a breading station. In one tray, season the Panko bread crumbs with salt and pepper. In the second second tray, whisk two eggs with a few tablespoons of water to make the egg wash. Season the egg wash with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. In the third tray, season the all purpose flour with salt and pepper. Dip each piece of pork cutlet into the flour, egg, and Panko bread mixture in that order. Set aside each piece until your oil is hot enough.

5. Pan fry the pork cutlets in the oil for two minutes on each side or until golden-brown. Remove from the oil and immediately season with salt.

6. To plate, lay down your pan fried pork chop and top with a few spoonfuls of your sweet pepper jam. Optional, but certainly encouraged, sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley on top.