1.  If you have not done so, prepare the recipe for the tomato sauce first and then set the finished sauce aside to cool.

2.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

3.  Rinse the cutlets under cool water; as slices are rinsed, place them between layers of paper towels to remove excess water. Set the cutlets aside.

 

 

 

4.  In a mixing bowl, add the egg whites, nutmeg, and lemon zest. Whisk thoroughly until all ingredients are mixed well.

5.  Discard the paper towels from the cutlets. Sprinkle salt lightly over cutlets making sure to salt each one and mix well into the cutlets.

6.  Set up a dredging station by adding the flour to a shallow dish or disposable aluminum pan. Pour the bread crumbs into a separate shallow dish or pan.

7.  Dredge the cutlets first through the flour, one at a time, and shake off any excess.

8.  Then place 1 or 2 cutlets into the egg mixture and coat both sides of the meat with the egg mix.

9.  Finally, place each cutlet into the bread crumbs. If you have space in your dish, you can put more than 1 cutlet into the bread crumbs at a time.

10.  Cover all parts of the veal cutlet with bread crumbs, making sure to press the bread crumbs into the meat so they stick well.

11.  Once thoroughly covered, remove the cutlets from the bread crumbs and place on a plate or tray in preparation for frying.

12.  Continue this process until all cutlets are breaded. Add more bread crumbs to your dish as needed.

13.  In a large skillet or pot for frying, add the frying oil. Make sure to leave at least 1 inch between the oil and the rim of the skillet. If using a large pot for frying, do not fill more than 1/3 of the pot with oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. Hot oil is dangerous, highly flammable and can cause serious burns if it gets on your skin. Be extremely careful at all times when working with and around hot oil.

14.  When the oil reaches the correct temperature, place 2 – 3 cutlets into the hot oil and fry each cutlet thoroughly on both sides until the bread crumbs are golden brown, 5 – 7 minutes. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan or the cutlets won’t fry evenly.

15.  When the cutlets are golden brown, remove them from the oil and place on paper towels to drain any excess oil.

16.  Using a spatula or fine, slotted spoon remove as much of the loose bread crumbs that remain in the hot frying oil as possible and discard them. These breadcrumbs will continue to cook in the oil and eventually burn, leaving a bad aftertaste in the oil and subsequently on your cutlets. The cleaner you keep the oil during frying, the better all of your cutlets will taste.

17.  Repeat steps 14 - 16 until all cutlets are fried.

18.  Line an oven safe baking dish with parchment paper or spray it with nonstick cooking spray.

19.  Spoon 2 - 3 generous spoonfuls of the prepared tomato sauce into the baking dish and spread it evenly to lightly coat the bottom of the dish.

20.  Place the fried cutlets into the dish over the tomato sauce.

21.  Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the cutlets, and then sprinkle the grated mozzarella and the grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese evenly over the smothered cutlets.

22.  Cover the baking dish with foil; place it on the center rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the tomato sauce is bubbly.

23.  At this point, uncover the dish and bake it another 10 minutes to lightly brown the cheese on top.

24.  When the dish is finished baking, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 5 - 10 minutes prior to serving.

25.  Serve over the top of your favorite prepared pasta or with crusty bread for dipping into the sauce.