veal holstein

i never understand people who say they can’t be bothered to cook when they’re on their own. my greed can rarely be fobbed off by a tin of soup or a ready made meal for one (that's not food, that's a snacklet). if anything, solitary suppers are a good excuse to go over the top and treat yourself to something special. 

to be fair, you don’t want to end up making something fussy. there is nothing more soul-destroying than spending two hours in the kitchen to make a meal you’ll eat in five minutes in front of the telly. so the key is to cook something simple but indulgent. that usually means investing in good ingredients and/or eating something that would make your doctor apoplectic.

i've already blogged about veal and creamed spinach being my favourite comfort food. i ended up making both for this dinner but i decide to experiment with veal holstein, which is basically a wiener schnitzel topped with a fried egg, capers and anchovies. not sure where the recipe comes from - the caper/anchovy combination sounds a bit italian to me. i've not met many brits who like either so feel free to skip them but i think you'd be missing a trick - you need the salty, acidic taste they bring.

i also thought i'd experiment with using almond flour for the escalopes - figuring i can always just scrape the batter off if it tastes rubbish. it was a pleasant surprise - not as nice as crispy breadcrumbs but a worthy substitute nevertheless.

in fact, the whole thing was so nice - all crispy batter with soft yolk with the capers kick behind it - that i ate it in about 1.5 minutes. so much for indulgence. 

my only warning would be that you might not want to attempt it unless you have a dishwasher. the kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it after i'd finished. good job i was on my own as r would have said the usual 'you think you're jamie oliver, you do'. 

VEAL HOLSTEIN
for two (i'll be having the leftovers for breakfast)

2 veal escalopes, flattened slightly (my buthcher does this but you can do it yourself with a rolling pin or your fist)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup of ground almonds
seasoning
1tbs butter
1tbs olive oil
1tbs capers, rinsed very well
4 anchovy fillets (if salted, rinsed very well)
2 eggs (i used duck's 'cos i'm greedy)
some chopped parsley

set the oven to very low, like 50C or less. this is to keep your veal warm while you finish off the dish.

spread the ground almonds on one plate, and place the beaten egg in another. season the veal escalopes and then dip them first in the egg, then in the almonds, shake off the excess and fry in hot olive oil for 2 minutes each side, depending on thickness. don't overcrowd the pan as they will go soggy (you might have to do it in two batches, as i did), and don't have the heat on too high as the almonds will burn. put on a plate and keep warm in the oven.

wipe the pan clean and then fry the eggs briefly - the yolk should be soft.

in a separate pan, melt the butter with a tiny bit of olive oil and add the capers and the parsley.

to plate, place the anchovy fillets on top of the veal, cover with the fried egg and pour over the parsley and caper sauce.