Veal Schnitzel

I remember when I was a kid my mum would come home from shopping every so often with some veal escallops that she would turn into the most delicious schnitzel. I have to assume her excitement was in that you don't often see veal, so when you do you snap it up. Crumbed and fried, I'm sure it played havoc with dad's high cholesterol, but it always made us happy. And it was always served in one of two ways, either with mashed potato and peas and presented with HP sauce, or with her special pasta with broccoli and anchovies. I've never asked where she found these recipes from (or how she decided to pair them together), I must do so next time we're visiting with them in Victoria.

So. I found some veal at the butchers, and just like my mum, I got all excited and covered them with eggy breadcrumbs and we had a delicious dinner. I've got some tips for you.

• First,  add a little chopped parsley, grated lemon zest and Parmesan cheese to the crumbs to make them tastier (if it was in any way possible to make fried bread any more tasty that is).
• Second, use only one hand to do the crumbing, otherwise you end up with flour, egg and breadcrumbs stuck all over everything. Leave one hand clean for turning on the tap.
• The third tip is not mine but Garry's, but I employ it. Repeat the crumbing process twice, so you get an extra thick crust. The resulting coating is so much more delicious it's worth both the time and the calories.

I have done away with both the HP Sauce and the broccoli pasta (although that is delicious in it's own right) and prefer to serve with some mashed potatoes and some rocket, lightly dressed with some lemon pressed olive oil.

Veal Schnitzel

2 veal escallops, trimmed of all fat and sinew
4 tbs flour
2 eggs
2 cups dry sourdough breadcrumbs
zest of one lemon
2tbs finely chopped parsley
2tbs finely grated Parmesan cheese

Bash out the veal until it is a uniform thickness, about 4-5mm thick. Mix together the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, parsley and cheese to form the crumbs.
Dip each escallop first into the flour, then the beaten egg and then the crumbs, being sure to get a good coating of each. Repeat to get extra thick crumbs.
Allow the crumbed escallops to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to help the crumb set.
When you're ready to eat, heat some butter and olive oil in a big fry pan, I make sure there's about 1/2 - 1 cm of fat in the bottom of the pan to ensure fast cooking. When the butter is foaming, place the crumbed escallops in and let them cook. Don't play with them or the crumbs will fall off. Trust the process, when the crumbs are cooked they will come off the bottom of the pan! It takes a couple of minutes. Turn and cook the other side.
When cooked through, remove from heat and drain on some kitchen paper. Serve up immediately with mashed potato and a good squeeze of lemon.