WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Hearty Swiss chard and rustic, chewy barley are paired with quick-cooking turkey cutlets for a great weeknight meal. Since the cutlets cook so quickly, we prepared our barley first, simmering it with aromatics and the chard stems before folding in the Swiss chard leaves. To
give the turkey bright flavor, we employed a simple trick: We caramelized lemon halves in the cooking oil, infusing it (and thus the cutlets) with flavor. A hint of lemon zest in the barley complemented the lemony oil. A half a cup of Parmesan added a salty richness, tying the whole dish together. Do not substitute hulled, hull-less, quick-cooking, or presteamed barley (read the ingredient list on the package carefully to determine this) in this recipe.
SERVES: 4
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS:
- Rinse the pearl barley
- Trim the turkey cutlets
INSTRUCTIONS:
- CHARD AND BARLEY MIXTURE
- Heat 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- Add ¼ cup of finely chopped onion and 12 ounces of stemmed Swiss chard (1 cup stems chopped fine, leaves cut into 1-inch pieces) and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in 1 ½ cups of rinsed pearl barley and 2 minced garlic cloves, and cook until barley is lightly toasted and fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in 2 ½ cups of chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until barley is tender and broth is absorbed, 20 to 40 minutes.
- ADD CHARD AND PARMESAN
- Fold in the chard leaves and 1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest into the barley mixture, increase heat to medium-high, and cook, uncovered, stirring gently, until chard is wilted, about 2 minutes.
- Off heat, stir in ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover to keep warm.
- COOK THE TURKEY CUTLETS
- Pat 6 (4-ounce) turkey cutlets dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- Add lemon halves, cut side down, and cook until browned, about 2 minutes; set aside.
- Heat remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in the now-empty skillet until shimmering.
- Add cutlets to skillet and cook until well browned and tender, about 2 minutes per side.
- Off heat, squeeze lemon halves over cutlets.
- SERVE
- Serve turkey cutlets with barley mixture, sprinkling individual portions with remaining ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese.
