Editor's note:The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Joan Nathan's bookThe Foods of Israel Today. _Nathan also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page.
几乎每一个餐厅在以色列土耳其特性schnitzel on the menu. Most homemakers buy it breaded and frozen and serve it preceded by hummus, tahina, and other salads for a quick main meal. As I went from table to table throughout Israel, I found the dish to be more or less the same, prepared with spice combinations that vary depending on the ethnic background of the cook. Yemenite Jews, for example, add garlic, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, andhawayij.Polish cooks often use matzoh meal. A classic schnitzel includes both butter and oil, which has been changed to just oil in Israel. Even in remote corners of Latin America, restaurants try to woo Israeli travelers by putting up signs in Hebrew saying WE HAVE SCHNITZEL._
Ingredients
Yield: 6 servings
Step 1
1. Place one cutlet at a time inside a large plastic bag. With a meat mallet, pound the turkey or chicken slice as thin as possible and season well with salt and pepper.
Step 2
2. Spread the flour on a flat plate. Break the eggs into a pie plate and beat well. Put the bread crumbs on a third plate.
Step 3
3. Pour the oil into a heavy skillet to a depth of 1 inch and heat over a medium flame until almost smoking.
Step 4
4. Dip each turkey or chicken breast in flour, then in egg, and then in bread crumbs.
Step 5
5. Fry the schnitzels for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
Step 6
6. Drain the schnitzels on a plate lined with paper towel. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Step 7
NOTE: You can also bake the breaded schnitzels in a 350-degree oven for a few minutes ahead of time. Then, just before serving, deep-fry quickly to crisp the outside.
Joan Nathan shares her tips with Epicurious:
Step 8
• This dish, a variation on veal schnitzel from Central Europe, is a classic example of the transformations common in Israeli cooking. Before Israel's swamps were drained in the 1950s to irrigate the desert, there was not enough grassland to pasture cows. Thus the first Central European Jewish settlers adapted one of their native dishes to use turkey meat, more easily raised in desert conditions. Subsequent immigrants have added twists from their own backgrounds, such as Yemeni Jews adding the Middle Eastern spice blendhawayij.
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Reviews (6)
Back to TopDefinitely a nostalgic dish! These days I use panko and it comes out great.
Jasmin28
2/24/2010
Uh... isn't this just fried chicken?
Mrgentileman
8/31/2009
To reply to the cook from NY- Joan Nathan says a "clasic Scnitzel" calls for butter (ie in Germany) but that ibn Israel it has been changed to just oil.
Anonymous
La Jolla, CA
1/24/2008
On what planet does classic Israeli schnitzel call for butter? That would be mixing dairy and meat, not a common practice even among the majority Israelis who don't keep Kosher. My traditional version has paprika as well, and salt, pepper, and a little gralic powder depending on your mood. Italian seasoned bread crumbs work well too. The flour makes the coating stick on better, for some reason, although I agree it's not a must.
Anonymous
New York, NY
3/31/2005
Being a native Israeli, this is one of the things I ate most growing up, and make myself today. The common ish in Israel is chicken breast, and not turkey. Paprikka in the bread crumbs is a must, and the flour can definitely be skipped.
Anonymous
Israel
3/16/2005
We make schnitzel all the time at my house - definately a nostalgia dish as when I grew up we ate schnitzel a couple times a week. I usually don't bother with the initial dip in flour and it turns out fine to my taste. Also nice with some sesame seeds mixed into the breadcrumbs.
Anonymous
Phoenix, AZ
3/15/2005
