Pork Tenderloin Schnitzel

Sorry about the lack of posts. I’ve decided to come up with a new format for this blog. Instead of telling you what to cook for dinner I will give you themed weeks, with recipes to correspond to those themes. You can then pick or choose what to make based on a theme. The idea being that after a few months of this you can log onto Hungry in Hoboken and say “geez, I feel like cooking something light tonight” and then click, you have a recipe. This will involve a little re-design of the website, which will not happen right away, so please be patient.

The first theme I’m going to approach is cooking for kids. I will not pretend to be an expert on what kids will eat. More often than not my daughter’s diet is limited to peas, corn and pasta. But I do remember what I used to like when I was little and I do get some feedback from some of my friends on what their kids eat. Also, I’m a voracious reader of cookbooks and included amongst them are cookbooks that are kid friendly.

So with that in mind I’ve got a meal here for you today. It is pork tenderloin schnitzel with spaetzle and braised cabbage and apples. Spaetzle are tiny dumplings that are boiled in water. My mother used to toss them with melted butter or you can fry them briefly in a frying pan to give them crispness.

My mother made spaetzle often when we were kids and even now my husband loves them and often asks for them. My mother used to take the dough and place it on a cutting board and standing over a boiling pot slice off tiny dumpling after dumpling. I have found a faster way to make spaetzle that uses a food mill. I just dump all the dough in and a couple of turns later all of the dumplings are in the water. You can also use a colander for this purpose, or you can even buy a spaetzle maker which resembles a cheese grater.

Here are the recipes:

Braised Red Cabbage with Apples

Serves 4 to 6

I realize this side dish may be too strange for some kids, but give it a try. The sweet apples and the tangy cabbage are a nice fit with the schnitzel. If you prefer you can serve the schnitzel with steamed carrots instead.

1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cup chicken broth or water
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
1 small head of red cabbage, shredded
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced
4 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp water

In a large frying pan or dutch oven heat the butter and olive oil. Cook the onion until softened. Stir in the broth, vinegar, sugar and salt and pepper. Add the cabbage and reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the apples and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Combine the cornstarch with 2 Tbsp of water and stir it into the sauce and cook until the sauce is thickened. Transfer to a serving dish.

Pork Tenderloin Schnitzel

Serves 4 to 6
Depending on the size of your tenderloin this should serve 4 to 6 people. It makes little individual schnitzels rather than a big one which is more traditional. Kids like little food so this one is popular with kids.

1 pork tenderloin, about 1 pound
Salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten
Flour
3 tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup to 1 cup bread crumbs
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil

Slice the tenderloin into medallion like slices (like you are slicing a loaf of bread). Take the medallions and place them between two sheets of wax paper. With a meat pounder or a rolling pill pound the medallions until they are very thin, about 1/4 of an inch thick.

Set up a breading station, by placing a bowl with flour, a bowl with the beaten egg and a bowl with the parmesan cheese mixed with the bread crumbs.

Sprinkle both sides of the meat with salt and pepper and then dredge each piece in the flour, followed by the egg and finally through the bread crumb mixture.

In a large frying pan melt the olive oil and the butter together. Fry each medallion over medium high heat until nicely browned on each side. Place the medallions in a warm oven until the rest of the meal is finished cooking.

Spaetzle

Serves 4 to 6
This is the old recipe my mother used to make. She would often double it to feed 6 people.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
Pinch of nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/2 cup water

In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and the water. Pour the eggs and water into the dry ingredients. Beat with a wooden spoon to form a sticky dough.

Prepare a large pot of boiling salted water (just like you were making pasta). And using a colander (or whatever method you prefer) drop the dough through the colander into the boiling water (you may need to push it through with the wooden spoon.

The dumplings are cooked when they float to the surface. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon to a warm bowl and add a pat of butter to the bowl and toss. Or if you prefer you can fry them in a frying pan with butter to crisp them up.