Grabenwerkstatt's Legendary Schnitzel
Ingredients:
- Pork Loin
- Free range eggs (beaten)
- Breadcrumbs (the best you can find)
- Salt
- Finely ground black pepper (that's important)
- Oil (for deep frying)
- Lemon
- Mountain cranberries (or cranberry sauce)
Method:
- Cut the pork in thin slices removing any excess fat, cover with clingfilm and beat it very thin with an empty Burgundy bottle – preferably grand cru (this is the secret but which seems to make all the difference)!
- Heat your oil in a deep-fryer or large deep pan, to around 200°C
- Sprinkle both sides of the pork with salt and fine ground black pepper.
- Put flour in a large bowl and use it to coat the meat on both sides.
- Using another large bowl for your beaten eggs dip the coated pork and cover well.
- Using a third dish for breadcrumbs, lay the pork in the breadcrumbs and press them onto the meat on both sides
- Deep fry the schnitzel one at a time turning when it's golden on one side
- Lay a slice of bread on a serving plate and pile your schnitzel on here. The bread will soak up any additional oil.
- Serve with sliced lemon and mountain cranberries on the side.
You can also bake your schnitzel in the oven if you don't have a deep-fat fryer. I baked mine in the oven by pre-heating a deep baking tray at gas mark 6. When I trimmed the excess fat from the pork loin at the start, I put this in the baking tray with a little drizzle of oil and placed this in the oven while preparing the schnitzel. By the time the schnitzel was ready to go in the tray, the bits of fat had turned into delicious pork scratchings which I snacked on and meanwhile the fat that had rendered out into the tray was perfect for adding a little extra flavour to the schnitzel. Put the schnitzel in the tray, with a little drizzle of olive oil on top and bake for around 30-45 minutes depending on your oven, turning over every 10 minutes or so, until golden and crisp on both sides.
Potato Salad
Ingredients (usually made to serve 4 people):
- Good quality organic potatoes (the small ones are the best)
- 1 medium sized red onion
- Mustard (wholegrain or Dijon)
- White wine vinegar
- Sugar
- Salt
- Ground black pepper (that´s important)
- Sunflower oil
Method:
- Boil the potatoes in a large pan with the skin on.
- Once they are boiled, peel the skin off, cut them in half and then thinly slice them (don't cool them down, it's important that they are still warm)
- Put sliced potatoes in a bowl along with 5tbl spoons of sunflower oil, sliced red onions and black pepper and salt to taste.
- In another bowl, make a mixture of 3 tbl spoons white wine vinegar, salt, 2 tbl spoons of sugar, 1 tsp mustard and 3 tbl spoons water. Mix together into a marinade and pour over the potatoes. Mix well.
It's an inexact art, especially where the salad is concerned, but it's a good, simple and deliciously hearty meal.
