Cotoletta

Cotoletta is an Italian form of breaded cutlet made from veal. The dish originated in France as the côtelette de veau frite, and was created by the chef Joseph Menon in 1735. Côtelette means 'little rib' in French, referring to the rib that remains attached to the meat during and after cooking.

The French brought the dish to Italy and Austria during the Napoleonic Wars. The dish became popular in Italy and took the name of côtelette révolution française and then cotoletta. There are several variations, in Italy as well as in other countries, due to Italian diaspora.

Lombardy
Cotoletta alla milanese ( after its place of origin, Milan) is a fried veal breaded cutlet similar to Wiener schnitzel, but cooked with the bone in. It is traditionally fried in clarified butter. Due to its shape, it is often called oreggia d'elefant in Milanese or orecchia d'elefante in Italian, meaning elephant's ear.

Emilia-Romagna
Cotoletta alla bolognese ( after its place of origin, Bologna) is similar to a milanese, but melted Parmesan cheese and pieces of prosciutto are put overtop of the fried veal cutlet.

Sicily
Cotoletta alla palermitana ( after its place of origin, Palermo) is similar to a milanese, but the veal is brushed with olive oil, and then baked or grilled instead of being fried. The breadcrumb is often mixed with parsley and pecorino cheese, and unlike the milanese cutlet, the palermitana cutlet does not have eggs in its breading.

Argentina, Peru and Uruguay
Various breaded meat dishes prepared in Argentina and Peru were inspired by the cotoletta alla milanese and are known as milanesa. In Argentina, Peru and Uruguay, milanesa a la napolitana is made similar to the cotoletta with a preparation of cheese and tomato.

United States
Veal parmigiana is an Italian-American hybrid of cotoletta and the traditional Italian dish parmigiana di melanzane, consisting of a fried veal cutlet but prepared in a similar way to parmigiana di melanzane, substituting the eggplant for veal.