Cachopo, the Asturian Schnitzel for Two: Chef Carlos Fernández-Miranda Says the Egg Is Beaten With a Spoon and the Frying Takes One Minute

We all know schnitzel in the Balkans, so cachopo will look to you like an old friend who's put on weight. The Asturian classic is made from two thin veal fillets with cured ham and cheese between them, breaded and fried until golden. It's as big as a plate. And that's exactly why, says chef Carlos Fernández-Miranda, you don't eat it alone.

Fernández-Miranda of Madrid's Virey restaurant learned the trade as a waiter in a cider house below his building, where the cook Irene told him all the tricks. Today he serves cachopo only to order, because everything is made on the spot: they tried preparing it in advance, but the breading starts to dry out. At home this is good news. The very thing that can't be rushed is what makes it good.

The meat. Veal, not beef from a cow, in his case Asturian with an IGP label. The fillets are pounded until thin, because the blows break the fibers and the meat softens. Thick meat is one of the three most common mistakes: it's heavy to eat and fills you up fast.

The filling. The other two mistakes are cheese that's too strong and too many things in the filling. Asparagus, mushrooms, wild fungi: the less, the better, he says. He uses Gouda, which melts well and doesn't compete with the meat, and instead of the usual ham he puts in wagyu cecina.

The breading. Here's the whole secret. The egg is never beaten with a whisk but with a spoon, so no air gets in, because otherwise it puffs up and bursts when fried. Finely chopped garlic and parsley go into it, a trick from Irene. The breadcrumbs must be very fine, so the crust is evenly crisp, and the breading is pressed firmly onto the meat so it doesn't come away. The chef fries it over very high heat, fully submerged in mild oil, for exactly one minute. That holds for his thin meat: if yours is thicker, the time will be longer and the result heavier.

What do you drink with it? In Asturias, apple cider, which is fresh and sour and cuts the fat. In Madrid he'd take a full-bodied red wine. He never recommends beer, because it bloats you, and cachopo is heavy enough on its own. Eat it between two or three people, with a fresh salad first. Anyone who wants to can eat it alone, the chef says, but that's a personal decision not even the finest breadcrumb can help with.