Veal schnitzel with mashed potato and smashed peas

By: Lyndey Milan
From: Taste of Australia
Serves: 4
Prep: 15 mins
Cooking time: 40 mins
Photographer: Stuart Scott

Crumbing meat is a time-honoured tradition. While crumbed lamb cutlets, mash and peas have a fond place in most Australians’ hearts, veal makes a lighter alternative, especially with panko crumbs. For Paris mash, use cream rather than milk in the mashed potato recipe, double the quantity of butter and sieve the mash at least once, using a fork, potato ricer or drum sieve, for a silky texture.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
2	garlic cloves, finely chopped
1	egg, beaten
60g	panko crumbs
2 tablespoons	flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1	small lemon, zested, plus the cheeks of 2 lemons
	sea salt
	freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons	plain flour
4 x 180g	veal schnitzels
80ml	extra-virgin olive oil, for shallow-frying

Mashed potato

Quantity	Ingredient
650g	evenly sized floury potatoes, washed, such as pontiac, sebago or king edward
1 teaspoon	salt
	freshly ground black pepper
85g	butter, diced, at room temperature
125ml	milk, warmed

Smashed peas

Quantity	Ingredient
1	mint sprig
pinch	sugar
400g	frozen peas

Method

For the mashed potatoes, place the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and add the salt. Bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until very soft.
Meanwhile, for the smashed peas, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the mint, sugar and peas and boil for 4 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of the cooking water. Transfer the peas and reserved cooking water to a large bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher. The idea is to keep some texture. Set aside and keep warm.
For the veal, combine the garlic and egg in a medium bowl. Combine the panko crumbs, parsley, lemon zest, sea salt and pepper on a flat plate. Place the flour on another flat plate and season with salt and pepper. Dip the schnitzels in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess. Dip in the egg, and then in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing to coat.
Drain the potatoes and return them to the saucepan. Shake the pan over low heat for 15–30 seconds to remove the remaining moisture. Remove the saucepan from the heat, cover with a clean tea towel (dish towel) and leave for 5 minutes. Peel the skins. If not dry and flaky, return the potatoes to the dry saucepan and shake over low heat for another 15–30 seconds.
Mash the potatoes with a potato ricer, mouli grater or hand masher, with the diced butter, salt and pepper, until smooth. Add half the warm milk to the pan, beat in with a fork, metal whisk or wooden spoon, then slowly add the remaining milk and beat again until well incorporated. Set aside and keep warm.
Heat half the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Fry the veal in two batches for 1–2 minutes on each side, until just cooked and golden. Drain on paper towel. In between each batch wipe down the pan to remove any burning crumbs and heat the remaining oil. Serve immediately with the mashed potato, smashed peas and lemon cheeks.

Wine

A white wine with some texture is called for, like a chardonnay, marsanne or roussanne. Or go for a softer style of red, such as an Italian varietal like barbera or sangiovese.

Lyndey’s note

Panko are Japanese breadcrumbs. They are made from crustless bread, making them light and flaky. They also absorb less oil and can be found in the Asian section of all good supermarkets.