Chicken Primavera

While pasta primavera can all too often seem like it’s stuck in the ’80s, the best versions highlight fresh quickly cooked spring vegetables bathed in a creamy—not claggy—sauce. And it turns out the primavera treatment is equally delicious when you swap the pasta for golden brown chicken cutlets. Think of the pearl onions, asparagus, and peas in this recipe only as a template—primavera means spring in Italian, so feel free to bring any and all of the season’s green vegetables into the mix. You can swap in fava beans, sugar snap peas, or even wild ramps. If you can’t find pearl onions (you want the frozen peeled ones), use chopped scallions or spring onions. One thing you really shouldn’t substitute here: the heavy cream. (Half-and-half will curdle when it mixes with the lemon juice in the pan sauce.) —Christian Reynoso