About this Recipe

Tacos are a popular dinner choice in my home. However, when I needed to come up with a special meal for Cinco de Mayo, I wanted to try something different. I drew inspiration from a classic Italian dish veal Milanese, which is breaded veal cutlet topped with a tomato and arugula salad. I decided to give it a Mexican twist and created a version of my own. Using pork tenderloin, I infused it with classic Mexican flavors. It turned out to be a delightful departure from the norm (although I have nothing against tacos!)

• 1 pork tenderloin
• 2 cups bread crumbs or panko
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
• Kosher alt and freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying

Tomato-Mango Salsa:

• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 mango, diced
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1-2 jalapeños, finely chopped
• Fresh corn kernels from 1 ear of corn
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Step 1:

Slice the pork tenderloin into about 1/2-inch slices. Place each slice between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper and pound with a meat mallet. If you don’t have a mallet, you can use a rolling pin or a heavy pot. Pound each piece of pork until it is 1/8 of an inch thick.

Season the pork cutlets generously with salt and pepper.

Step 2:

Set up a breading station with three shallow dishes or plates. You’ll use one for flour, one for beaten eggs, and one for breadcrumbs. Line them up in this order: flour, eggs, breadcrumbs. This creates an assembly line for easy breading. Add the garlic powder, onion powder and oregano to the dish with the breadcrumbs and stir to combine.

Take a cutlet and dredge it in the flour, shaking off any excess. Next, dip the floured cutlet into the beaten eggs. Make sure it’s completely coated with egg wash. Finally, place the egg-coated cutlet into the breadcrumbs. Press down gently to ensure the breadcrumbs adhere to the surface evenly. Flip the cutlet and repeat on the other side, ensuring it’s fully covered with breadcrumbs.Repeat for remaining cutlets. Let the breaded cutlets rest on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the fridge while you make the tomato mixture. Letting the cutlets rest helps the breading adhere better and prevents it from falling off during cooking.