Credit: Christine Rudolph
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3 min read
Looking for some comfort food to get through the last grey days of January? These three schnitzel recipes may be the answer.
Comfort food comes in many shapes and sizes. Warming bowl food, nostalgia-filled meals, or something deliciously fried… the list could go on. And there are few times that we’re more in need of an uplifting dish than in the last week of January.
Enter, the schnitzel. The perfect combination of tender meat, perfectly fried crunchy coating and a heavy dose of nostalgia – it’s exactly what we’re craving right now. Decadent and satisfying, as well as being easily achievable at home, it’s the ideal thing to make this weekend if your purse is looking a little bare ahead of pay day.
While the classic Austrian wiener schnitzel has to be made with veal, we’ve selected three recipes which each use a different type of meat. First up, Bill Granger gives us a taste of Australia with his parmesan-crumbed chicken schnitzel. Served with creamed corn and a heritage tomato salad, it’s a recipe that promises plenty of comfort for the here and now, but will be just as good come spring.
Or, if you’re looking to go all out, the schnitzel from acclaimed Copenhagen restaurant Barr is what to make. Brining the meat may seem like an extra effort, but will guarantee a perfect schnitzel. Served classically with brown butter sauce, it’ll bring a taste of vintage fine dining into your kitchen.
Finally, for a hearty yet gluten-free take on the schnitzel, Emilie Brabon-Hames and Chief Brabon’s recipe may not call for breadcrumbs, but with the addition of a deliciously creamy mushroom sauce lavished on top of the baked beef schnitzel, we think it’s worthy of your weekend feasting.
Parmesan-crumbed chicken schnitzel with creamed corn and heritage tomato salad
Bill says: “Along with the meat pie, this has to be Australia’s favourite pub food. We see a really good schnitty as one of our basic human rights. This is the comfort food of my childhood, updated with a heritage tomato salad. This schnitty first appeared in Sydney Food, with creamed potato and a crisp fennel salad – it was on our first dinner menu when we opened bills Surry Hills, and it’s been there ever since.”
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 chicken escalopes
- 75g plain flour
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 egg
- 30g fresh breadcrumbs
- 45g grated parmesan
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon wedges, cut into wedges, to serve
For the creamed corn
- 50g butter
- 200g red onion, finely sliced
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- 2 teaspoons sliced red chilli
- 250g sweetcorn, cut from the cob
- 50ml double cream
For the heritage tomato salad
- 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 2 green tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 1 red onion, finely sliced
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 tablespoon ground sumac
- 120ml olive oil
Method
Place the escalopes between sheets of baking paper on a board and flatten by gently hitting with a rolling pin.
Place the flour in a shallow bowl. Lightly beat the milk and egg in another bowl. Mix together the breadcrumbs, parmesan, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper in a third bowl. Dip each chicken escalope in the flour, then the egg, then in the breadcrumbs, shaking off the excess.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken (you might need to cook in batches to avoid overcrowding) and cook for two minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.
Meanwhile, to make the creamed corn, heat the butter in a saucepan until sizzling. Add the onion, garlic and chilli. Cook until the onion is translucent. Add the sweetcorn, cover the pan and simmer gently for 20 minutes or until tender. Add the cream and 50ml water and bring to a simmer. Remove one-third of the corn from the pan and blend until smooth. Return the blended corn to the saucepan and mix through. Season well and set aside to cool.
For the heritage tomato salad, toss together the tomatoes, onion and parsley with the sumac. Toss with the olive oil and a sprinkling of salt.
Serve the schnitzels with the creamed corn and tomato salad, with lemon wedges on the side.
From Australian Food by Bill Granger (Murdoch Books, £20), out now
Barr schnitzel with butter sauce
Christine and Susie say: “Mia Christiansen, sous chef at Barr, tells us one of the secrets to a succulent schnitzel is the brining of the meat. This is optional, but worth the effort. A basic brine is one litre of water mixed with 100g salt, lightly crushed allspice, black peppercorns and a bay leaf.”
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the schnitzel:
- 5 x large pork tenderloins, 140 g each brined for 2–8 hours
- 100g panko breadcrumbs
- 50g plain flour
- 2 egg whites, beaten with a fork
- Clarified butter and oil, for deep-frying
For the brown butter sauce:
- 200g butter
- 2 lemons, segmented and chopped
- 50g anchovies, cut into 1 cm pieces
- 1 French shallot, finely chopped
- 50g capers, soaked in hot water
For the peas, chive oil and vinaigrette:
- 220g cold-pressed rapeseed oil
- 50g apple cider vinegar
- 35g white wine vinegar
- 15g coarse mustard
- 1g curry powder
- 1g cayenne pepper
- 5g Tabasco
- 2g soy sauce
- 200g fresh peas (peeled weight)
Method
For the peas, blend the oil, vinegars, mustard, spices and soy for 30 seconds. Marinate the peas with the chive oil and vinaigrette and season. Pat the meat dry, then cut each piece through the middle (not all the way through) to open out the tenderloin. Place between 2 sheets of baking paper and flatten with a meat mallet to six to eight mm.
Blitz the panko breadcrumbs in a blender for 10 seconds. Coat the schnitzels in the flour, then in the egg white and then in the panko. Heat enough clarified butter and neutral oil for deep-frying to 170°C in a large, deep frying pan. Fry the schnitzels for two minutes on each side until golden. Drain on paper towels and season with salt.
For the sauce, slowly heat the butter in a pan to 170°C, stirring. Once caramelised, cool to room temperature before straining through muslin. Just before serving, heat the butter to 75°C. Add the remaining ingredients and cook gently for 3 minutes. Serve the schnitzel topped with the brown butter sauce, peas and Horseradish Cream (page 98), if liked.
From Copenhagen Cult Recipes by Christine Rudolph and Susie Theodorou (Murdoch Books, £20), out now
Beef schnitzel with mushroom sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 beef fillets
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 4 French shallots, finely diced
- 2–3 mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2–3 thyme sprigs, leaves only
- 1 tablespoon extra-light cream cheese
- freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Using a meat tenderiser, flatten the beef fillets to form 1 cm thick schnitzels.
Dip the schnitzels in the beaten egg. Place on the baking tray and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden.
Meanwhile, put the diced shallots and 3 tablespoons water in a saucepan and sauté over medium–high heat for five minutes or until the shallots are soft. Add the mushrooms, thyme and another three tablespoons water. Cook over medium heat for five to 10 minutes or until the mushrooms are cooked through.
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the cream cheese and pepper, to taste. Stir until the sauce is blended and smooth. Return to the heat and simmer over medium heat until the sauce has reduced to your desired thickness.
Spoon the mushroom sauce over the hot schnitzels.
Note:
You can fry the schnitzels in a frying pan for two to three minutes on each side instead of baking them. The pepper can be substituted with paprika.
From 8 Weeks to Wow by Emilie Brabon-Hames and Chief Brabon (Murdoch Books, £14.99), out now
Photography: Mikkel Vang; Christine Rudolph; Jeremy Simons
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