My wife is a fantastic cook and has shared many tasty meals with us from her home country of Romania. Although not unique to her country among her specialties is schnitzel. Served with her homemade fries and a garlic dip it’s out of this world! Living in a home with mixed tastes it’s one of the few things we can call agree on for dinner.
This evening I walked into the kitchen to find her already engaged in the process and Bridget eagerly assisting. I jumped in and soon we had a well-oiled machine orchestrated by our master chef, Ana. With her guidance below is the steps to prepare this tasty meal.
Ingredients
3lbs Boneless Chicken Breast
5 Eggs
1 .5 cups of Flour
2/potatoes per person
Canola Oil
+Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle (Family favorite)
+Garlic Powder
+Salt
+Paprika
Sour Cream
4 Cloves of Garlic
+Adjust seasoning to taste
Chicken Schnitzel
1. Start by cutting the chicken breast lengthwise about ¼” thick to make patties
2. Tenderize the meat using the textured end. The thinner it is the quicker it will cook.
3. Combine eggs in a bowl and mix with spices flavored to your taste
4. In a separate bowls add flour for breading with the same seasoning add to the eggs
5. Finally you will need a bowl of water to aid in adhering the breading
6. Place a frying pan over medium-high heat with a ¼ inch of oil
7. Create an assemble line beginning with the bowl of chicken, dunk in the water then the egg mixture and finally coat with the flour
8. Place in the frying pan and allow to cook 5-7 minutes flipping as it browns. This will vary depending on the thickness of the chicken and heat from the stove
French Fries
1. Peel potatoes and slice vertically into roughly 1/4” rectangular slices
2. Soak in a large bowl of water as they are prepared to help remove the starch
3. Heat oil over High in a large frying pan with enough oil to cover French Fries. This can be done in batches so you don’t have to get all the potatoes in the frying pan at once.
4. Use caution when dropping cut fries into oil from the water, there will be a lot of popping and steam as the water evaporates
5. Cook until golden brown
6. Scoop into bowl with paper towels on the bottom to catch excess grease
7. Optionally you can season the fries when placing in the bowl as this will cause it to adhere to the fries better
Garlic Sauce
1. Peel garlic and use a small shredder to get a finely ground pile
2. Mix with a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of oil until creamy
3. Combine with 2 heaping tablespoons of sour cream and mix thoroughly
4. Add water a teaspoon at a time till you get desired consistency
The first batch always takes longer when cooking the schnitzel and fries so keep a close eye on it. Unlike fast food fries these keep well and reheat to be added to other meals. We love adding them to eggs for a tasty breakfast treat. Schnitzel makes for a great meal when traveling, think geocaching road trips!
This is completely unrelated but a funny clip from a movie we enjoy.
3/10/2021