I was watching Rachael Ray the other day and she did a show about food in Vienna. I’ve been dreaming about going back to Vienna, as evidenced here and here. If I can’t travel to Vienna right now, at least I can recreate this for our empty nest at home, thought I.
When Music Man and I visited Vienna, I kind of fell in love with schnitzel, but it’s a lot of food and not so good for my diet. People usually make it by pounding the meat flat, coating it in breading and then frying it.
Refusing to let schnitzel be the boss of me, I started with the problem of most online recipes. They are designed for a family or a party, not just for the two of us in our empty nest. Voila! I decided to go with just two perfect palm-sized pork chops.
Rather than pounding them flat I kept the thicker size so that I wouldn’t have so much breading and less oil actually hitting the surface of the chop. I coated them with flour, egg, and panko bread crumbs just as Rachael did.
I ended up serving a meal that was not only relatively healthy, it was also delicious and satisfied that pesky schnitzel craving. Be sure to try this — it’s VERY easy!
This recipe can be made with chicken, veal, or pork.
Ingredients
- 2 pieces lean pork chops
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 Tbsp. sweet paprika
- A handful flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped
- 1 tbsp. lemon zest
Instructions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place a baking sheet in oven to keep cooked cutlets crisp.
Trim the pork chops of any visible fat.
Arrange a station for breading: flour, beaten eggs, bread crumbs mixed with paprika, parsley and the zest of a lemon.
Heat just enough oil to coat the bottom of a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
Bread each chop in flour, then egg, then bread crumb mixture and cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side, and transfer to oven. Keep the cooked chops hot in the warm oven until ready to serve.
Serve with lemon wedges.
https://gotmyreservations.com/2013/01/28/on-the-menu-monday-a-visit-to-vienna-2/For Rachael Ray’s original recipe, click here.
Of course, I couldn’t just serve the schnitzel, so then I went looking for a side dish, and boy, was I lucky to find this one.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. egg noodles
- 1 white cabbage head
- 2 Tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
- 2 onions (chopped)
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- Salt, caraway seeds, ground pepper
- 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Instructions
Wash the cabbage and remove the stalk. Cut into quarters, then cut the quarters into smaller pieces. Add salt to taste. Cut the pieces roughly into squares, bruise by hand and let stand for about 15 minutes.
Caramelize the sugar in the oil, and add the cabbage, onions and the caraway seeds. Cover, and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring regularly, until light brown in color. Season with pepper.
Boil some water and cook the noodles until soft, drain and combine with the cabbage. Add the balsamic vinegar and toss.Let stand for a few minutes. Before serving, season to taste with pepper and salt.
Notes
This recipe calls for fleckerl, a small square, flat noodle. I was not able to buy this at my grocery, so I used the thickest egg noodles I could find.
My husband hates caraway, so I made a spice mixture of cumin, dill, and fennel and ground them in my mortar. I don't think I would ever go back to the original caraway, as the sweet spice mixture was divine and went beautifully with the balsamic vinegar.
This recipe makes about six servings, and we have been enjoying the leftovers. It warms up beautifully in the microwave -- if you have any left over!
For the original cabbage and pasta recipe, click here.
Combined with some edamame salad straight from the deli counter, we had a healthy and satisfying meal that reminded us of our wonderful trip to Vienna, Austria.
My cousin just announced today that she is going to be in Vienna, Austria for the next 2 years. I’m going to direct her to your blog!
This is your big chance to see a European city with a buddy who lives there. Be sure to schedule a visit, Alycia!
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