One of my favorite salads in Boston is the Monica’s Mercato Chicken Cutlet Salad in the North End of Boston. When I worked in the North End, I became obsessed with it (and their focaccia bread…. drool….😍). I haven’t had it in over a year!!!! This is unheard of for me, so I decided to try recreating it. It’s so simple to make, delicious, and maybe most importantly, FILLING. 🙌🏻 There’s nothing worse than having a salad and still being hungry.
This Monica’s Mercato Chicken Cutlet Salad recipe has tons of roasted veggies, plus fresh, raw vegetables as well. It’s also easily customizable based on which veggies you like or depending on what you’re in the mood for! I promise you, it’s sooooo good. Keep reading for the recipe!
Like I said, one of the best things about this recipe is that it can be completely customized. It’s also a great meal prep meal. You can roast all of your veggies the night before and eat for dinner or save the roasted veggies for salads throughout the week. Here’s how I make it – feel free to customize based on your likes/dislikes!
Step 1 – Make your roasted veggies:
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 head of broccoli, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
dried thyme, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
Add tin foil to a baking sheet. Chop your veggies and add to your baking sheet. Drizzle everything with a little bit of olive oil, then salt and pepper to taste and roughly flip to coat all vegetables. I added a little bit of dried thyme to my carrots and added a little bit of garlic powder to my broccoli. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15-20 minutes. I recommend checking on your vegetables mid-way and flip them if needed.
Note: These amounts are about what would fit on my baking sheet – if yours can fit more, pile up!
Step 2 – Make your chicken cutlets:
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half and pounded thin
2 eggs, whisked in a bowl
~1/2 cup Edward & Sons Organic Bread Crumbs Italian Herbs (you HAVE to use these! They make them super crunchy)
~1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
~1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
~6-7 fresh basil leaves, chopped (If you have fresh basil leaves it really makes a difference, otherwise just use a few sprinkles of dried basil leaves)
garlic powder, to taste (just a small sprinkle)
salt and pepper, to taste
vegetable oil (for pan frying)
Start by cracking two eggs in a bowl and lightly whisking with a fork until the egg yolk and egg white are combined. Set aside. Next, add all of your breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, basil leaves, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to a plate. Use a spoon to make sure the ingredients are evenly distributed. Set aside. Cut all of your chicken breasts in half and pound thin with a mallet. I recommend pounding your chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap. Once pounded thin (really thin!), coat each chicken breast in egg. Then coat each chicken breast in the breadcrumb mixture. You may have to press the breadcrumbs into the chicken breasts a bit to get them to stay. Once all of your chicken breasts are coated, set aside.
Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add a few Tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan (you’ll want to use canola or vegetable oil since you’ll be cooking over high heat). Once your pan has come to temperature, cook two to three chicken breasts at a time until golden brown on each side. Cooking two to three at a time ensures the pan isn’t overcrowded and that your chicken cutlets get nice and crispy. If you pounded your chicken breasts thin enough, this won’t take much time at all. Only about 3 minutes on each side. Once your chicken breasts have cooked through, place on a clean plate and sprinkle with salt. Continue cooking the rest of your chicken breasts until finished. These are deliciously crispy!!!! (Also great for chicken parm!)
Step 3 – Make your salad & combine everything
Lettuce (I love the Little Leaf Farms crispy green lettuce)
Cucumbers
Raw carrots
Orange bell peppers
Cherry tomatoes
I typically have a container of salad in the fridge all week. I add lettuce, cucumbers, raw carrots, cherry tomatoes, and bell pepper slices to the salad. When putting together the salad, I add all of the raw salad ingredients to a bowl or plate, then I chop up my roasted veggies on a cutting board (don’t ask why, Monica’s does it this way so it stuck lol), then chop up the chicken. Then combine everything together (raw salad & veggies, roasted veggies, and chicken) and top with Newman’s Classic Oil & Vinegar dressing – one of my favorite salad dressings and tastes so much like the dressing that Monica’s uses.
I hope you guys enjoy! 🙌🏻 If you try it, please comment or tag me on Instagram. Have a favorite salad recipe!? I’d love it if you shared in the comments! xo You can find my other recipes here!
