Date Night Dinners - Schnitzel

7/25/2014 tringel 0 Comments

Schnitzel. I love schnitzel. It has become a sort of love affair. It began quite a while ago when I was still in elementary school. I was at my friend, DJ's, doing whatever it was we did back then, when her parents asked if I wanted to stay over for dinner; they were having schnitzel. Schnitzel?! 'What is that,' I thought. But hey, it meant I got to play with DJ for that much longer, so why not. (I would soon discover it was one of the most amazing chicken dishes ever.) So, we played until it was time for dinner, when I finally asked what schnitzel was. For those that don't know, schnitzel is a boneless meat, thinned and tenderized with a mallet, coated with flour, eggs and bread crumbs, and fried to cook (thanks wikipedia for the 'official' definition), popular in many countries throughout Europe and its surrounding areas.

As you may expect, each country has a slightly different version of this dish. That night at DJ's, I was exposed to the german version. With a little bit of anxiety and a lot of curiosity (they described it to me as a big, thin chicken nugget or a thin chicken parmesan piece). I took my first bite. And then my second. And then it was gone. And I don't just mean my piece, I mean all the chicken schnitzel. All of it. I think they were shocked. But I had fallen in love, and there is only so much you control with a heart in love. From there out, when it was schnitzel night at DJ's, everyone knew where I would be.


However, schnitzel night was not very often. Maybe this was a good thing, after all, they say absence makes the heart grow fonder. And as we got older, it became less and less frequent. I just assumed this was a hard dish to make and that is why it was so rare, plus you know, we grew up and should be able to cook for ourselves. The thought of schnitzel every night eventually left my mind, and I was free from the trance it had me in, or so I thought.



When I went to Israel last year, I discovered that schnitzel was crazy popular over there as well. You can imagine my delight when I discovered it was an option at pretty much every meal. And the spark was back. I had to get my fix, and I couldn't get enough. Although it was a little different in terms of seasonings and accompaniments (paprika, sesame seeds and hummus instead of lemon, spaetzel, and red cabbage), it was just as delicious as I had remembered. When I got back from Israel I raved about my time, and all the schnitzel I was able to eat. But again, it became a distant memory as never considered taking on the task of making it at home, myself. Until now that is.




The other day as Brenden and I were trying to decide our dinner for the week, DJ showed me a great schnitzel buzzfeed and I got inspired. We would make schnitzel. I looked up some recipes and tried to find the one I thought would most match my childhood tastebud memories. I also decided to add the sesame seed aspect of the Israeli schnitzel because I had really enjoyed that. Once I found a recipe Brenden and I took on our task and I think we conquered it.

Brenden battled the chicken cutting, pounding, and frying, and I took on the mixing, seasonings, and coating. We made a great team and thus had a fabulous dinner. We did not have any of the sides I was used to, but we did have a bag of tortellini on hand, so I decided to whip some up to go with our schnitzel. Again, it is like a version of chicken parmesan. And if you ask me, they paired perfectly. It was heaven. So good, although I can't say it was the best I have ever had, I will have to get DJ's dads secrets for that to happen. But it was pretty darn close and pretty great for a first try.

After all these years I found out it really isn't that hard to make schnitzel. While I still don't think this will become a frequently eaten dish, it will defiantly be made again! So try it out. Let me know what seasonings you use, what country makes your favorite version of schnitzel and what your favorite pairing is.

Chicken Schnitzel with Tortellini
Recipe adapted from recipeknead.com, Chicken Schnitzel and toriavey.com, Chicken Schnitzel


Ingredients

• 1 package tortellini
• 2lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 large eggs
• 2.5 cups panko bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp seasme seads
• 4 Tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Over medium high heat, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Once boiling, add tortellini and cook as directed on package.
3. Drain and set aside.
4. Wrap chicken breasts in siren wrap and place on a cutting board.
5. One at a time, pound the breasts so they are about 1/2 inch thick throughout.
6. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper, lemon zest, and garlic powder
7. In a second medium bowl, crack the eggs and whisk.
8. In a third medium bowl, pour in the panko bread crumbs.
9. One at a time, place a piece of chicken in the flour mixture, coating thoroughly on both sides.
10. Next, place the piece of chicken into the whisked eggs, again coating each side thoroughly.
11. Then, coat the chicken with panko breadcrumbs, coating thoroughly on both sides.
12. Add the oil to a large skillet over medium heat.
13. Once the oil is hot, place one piece of coated chicken into the skillet and let it cook for 2-4 minute on each side, or until golden brown and cooked through.
14. Remove the chicken from the skillet onto a plate lined with paper towels.
15. Repeat this process until all of the chicken has been cooked.
16. When all the chicken is cooked, sprinkle the juice of the zested lemon over each piece.
17. Layer a plate with cooked tortellini topped with a piece of cooked chicken schnitzel and enjoy!