A common variation made with chicken is popular in English-speaking countries and bears the name "chicken Milanese" (Italian: pollo alla milanese).[4]
History
In Milan, a dish called lumbolos cum panitio (lit.'chops with bread') was served in 1134. It is mentioned at a banquet for the canons of the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan.[5][6] It is not known if the meat was covered in breadcrumbs or if it was served with bread as a side dish.[7] Further evidence dates to around the 1st century BC indicating that the Romans enjoyed dishes of thin sliced meat, which was breaded and fried.[5] The dish resembles the Austrian dish Wiener schnitzel, which originated in Austria around the 19th century;[8] according to some, the two dishes might be related—Milan was part of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, in the Austrian Empire, until 1859—although the history of neither is clear.[9] According to Massimo Alberini, the dish was created in France and brought to Italy and Austria during Napoleonic Wars. The dish was first called côtelette révolution française (Italian: cotoletta rivoluzione francese, lit. 'French Revolution cutlet').[10][11] A similar recipe of fried veal cutlet was published in 1735 by the French chef Joseph Menon.[12]
Various breaded meat dishes prepared in South America, particularly in Argentina, were inspired by the cotoletta alla milanese brought by Italian immigrants and are known as milanesa. A local variation of milanesa is called milanesa a la napolitana [es] ('Neapolitan-style Milanese [cutlet]') and is made similar to veal Milanese with a preparation of cheese (mozzarella) and tomato.[13]
