Paper Palate

Because I am planning my first trip to Europe, I couldn’t resist this recipe in the February issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray: Pork Schnitzel with Caramelized-Onion Egg Noodles. I decided to make the dish in honour of our stop in Germany. The fact that this was in the 30-Minute Meals feature of the magazine was an added bonus.

Maybe those of you who know how a real schnitzel is made can clue me in as to the authenticity of this recipe. I don’t have a pan large enough to fit more than one piece of pork at a time, so this recipe took about 45 minutes instead of the 30 it probably should. My guests added some brown mustard to dip the schnitzel in and said it took the dish from good to great. I loved it all by itself.

Now, this meal is certainly not very healthy, so I supplemented it with some green beans that I boiled for a few minutes then sautéed with garlic and olive oil. I also used whole wheat egg noodles. Even with these little tweaks, this recipe still has white flour, white bread crumbs, egg, cream and a large dose of deep frying. So, consider it a treat instead of a regular menu item!

Here is the recipe with my comments in brackets:

Salt
1 pound extra-wide egg noodles [I used Healthy Harvest, which is a whole wheat blend]
4 tablespoons butter
2 large onions, thinly sliced lengthwise
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme or poultry seasoning [I went for the thyme, but either would definitely be good, so use whatever you have.]
Four 6- to 8-ounce boneless pork loin chops
Flour, for dredging
2 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half [I had cream left over, so I used that. If you are deep frying it, does it really matter?]
2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Vegetable oil, for frying [Canola worked perfectly]
Flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (a generous handful)
1 lemon, cut into wedges

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.

2. While the pasta is working, in a deep skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, season with salt, pepper and the thyme and cook, stirring, until the onions are golden, 20 minutes; set aside. [That’s about how long it ended up taking.]

3. Place each pork chop between wax paper or plastic wrap and pound with a mallet or small heavy skillet to 1/4-inch thickness. [After one pork loin, this turned into a job for my husband.] Season the meat with salt and pepper on both sides, then lightly dredge in flour and shake off the excess. Transfer to a plate. In a shallow dish, beat the eggs and cream. On another plate, season the bread crumbs with the nutmeg.

4. Preheat the oven to 250° and place a baking sheet on the middle rack. in a large skillet, heat a 1/4-inch-thick layer of oil over medium heat. [Seems like a whole lot of oil, but it was the perfect amount.] Dip the pork chops in the egg, then in the bread crumbs, and fry in the skillet 2 at a time, turning once, until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to the oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining chops.

5. Toss the noodles with the parsley and reserved onions; season with salt and pepper. Serve alongside the pork schnitzel with lemon wedges. [Darn it - I forgot the lemon wedges! Don’t make the same mistake as me.]