I have a special surprise! This week Delectable Endeavors has a guest writer and recipe from across the pond! My good friend, Mrs. S, has graciously agreed to share her knowledge of German food. Mrs. S is an American living in Germany with her husband. Since living in Germany, she has become well-aquainted with German cuisine, especially schnitzel.
Schnitzel is to Germany what hamburgers are to America. Culinarily speaking, schnitzel is a piece of meat (typically veal or pork) pounded thin, breaded, and fried. Mrs. S chose a great recipe to introduce German food. This is very familiar and friendly to most Americans. Plus, who doesn’t like something fried? I also like the fact that she added a little twist of her own by adding some lovely vegetables.
Doesn’t that look great?! Mrs. S requests that you forgive her dining wear. Apparently stripes are all the rage in Germany. Here’s Mrs. S’s recipe:
I used a really basic schnitzel recipe and added a few touches of my own. You find schnitzel across Germany with different types of sauces and toppings, all of which are delicious. I just recently had the gumption to try making it my own and was pleasently surprised how great it tasted. Wanting to spice up the recipe a little bit, I had some veggies I wanted to use up from throughout the week so I sauteed them and used them to top off the schnitzel.
4 boneless pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp Lawry’s seasoning salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp milk
3/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 tsp paprika
6-9 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 green bell pepper
6 white mushrooms
1 medium onion
Use a meat hammer to pound the pork chops to 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Some people prefer to cut small slits around the edges of the pork to prevent it from curling. But I did not and I had no problems.
Prepare the following ingredients in three shallow bowls. In one, mix together the flour, seasoning salt, and pepper. In the second bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. In the third bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs and paprika.
Roughly chop the green pepper, mushrooms, and onions.
In a small bowl, mix together dill, sour cream, and salt.
Heat 3 Tbls of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat.
Dredge the pork chops in the seasoned flour, then dip into the egg mixture, and finally the breadcrumbs. Cover the pork as thoroughly as possible.
Saute the pork in batches as your pan allows for 3/4 minutes on each side, until cooked through and the breading is golden brown. Remove from the skillet and place on a plate and cover in foil until you have finished cooking the remaining pork. (I found that I needed to continue to add just a little bit more oil after I flipped each piece and in between the two batches. This helped the breading to crisp up and become golden brown.)
While sauteeing your pork, heat 1 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a separate pan and sautee the vegetables until they start to be just a little soft.
After you have cooked each of the chops, add the chicken stock to deglaze the pan. Stir in the sour cream mixture. Heat and stir until the mixture thickens but do not allow it to boil.
When plating, drizzle the dill sauce over each piece of schnitzel and add the sauteed vegetables over the top. For a truly German experience, serve with your favorite potato side dish. Guten Appetit!
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