What did we have for Shabbat?…Well, shnitzel.
In Israel, any boned, skinless cut of meat, poultry or fish is called “shnitzel.” Normally shnitzels are breaded and fried, a quick method that prevents the meat from drying out. They’re easy to make and popular light fare for sizzling summer weather, when you come in from the street feeling broiled yourself.
These juicy chicken fillets are different, more interesting than the usual. A crust of herbs, breadcrumbs and nuts protects the meat, and instead of frying the shnitzels, you bake them quickly. The combination of juicy meat enveloped in a crisp, lively-flavored herbal crust makes a meal festive enough for any time.
Nut and Herb-Crusted Chicken Fillets
Serves 6
Ingredients:
6 skinless fillets of chicken breast
1 egg
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1 cup toasted, dry breadcrumbs
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper flakes, or more if liked
1/2 cup fresh herbs: parsley, chives, rocket, basil, scallions, cilantro – alone or in combination. (I like half cilantro, half rocket.)
1 cup toasted, ground walnuts
olive oil to drizzle
Method:
Preheat the oven to 450°F – 220°C.
1. Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet for 2 minutes, tossing them around with a spatula once in a while. When a toasted aroma arises from them, remove them from the skillet and allow them to cool.
2. In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, the salt, black pepper, and cayenne flakes.
3. In a food processor fitted with the knife blade, blend the walnuts and the herbs till the nuts are
chopped fine. Blend the herb/nut mixture with the dry mixture of breadcrumbs and seasonings.
4. Blend the egg and the mustard in a separate bowl.
5. Dip each side of each chicken fillet into the egg mixture. Then dip each eggy fillet into the crumb mix, pressing it lightly to make the crumb mixture stick.
6. Place the coated fillets on a rack over a baking pan. Drizzle them all over with a thread of olive oil.
7. Bake 12 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink inside. If it seems like the crust will burn before that, cover the fillets with a sheet of tin foil.
Serve with a rosé wine, cold beer, or lemonade.
Looks like a delicious change of pace from regular schnitzel. That’s interesting that you bake them on a rack over a pan. (I usually oven-fry schnitzel.)
(BTW, we have the same pattern of Corelle and also use it for besari. It’s always disconcerting to see someone else using one’s chalavi pattern for besari or vice versa!
)
LOL – yes, that does happen with Corelle! And has happened a number of times in the past. I sometimes wonder if anyone notices the “fleishig” and “milk” I write in black magic marker, on the stems of my wooden spoons. I’m pretty sure there’s at least one photo here showing that.
Looks amazing, I’m making it as soon as I buy another baking rack so I can have a bsari one.
It’s a delicious recipe, Rachel. I hope you do try it.
That looks good- what temperature do you bake them at?
Jenny, yikes! I put the oven temperature into the post. To answer, it’s 450 F – 220 C.
I must try these. Question: about the mustard – is that dry mustard (the spice) or prepared mustard?
Many thanks.
It’s prepared mustard. Thanks for pointing out the doubt. Going to change it in the recipe now… The original recipe (clipped out of an American ladies’ magazine, don’t remember which) specifies Dijon mustard, but the Heinz I have in the house tastes fine.
[...] makes my mouth water with her schnitzel photo and recipe. She suggests “serve with a rosé wine, cold beer, or [...]
i made these last night for a pre-9 days fleishig meal. i substituted hazelnuts for walnuts and cornmeal for breadcrumbs, using parsley and basil and grain mustard. They were delicious! thanks very much…
I’m a big fan of baking shnitzel- i hate standing over a pan and frying them and taking out the burnt crumbs every two or three shnitzels
This looks delish- i’ll have to try- though I’ve had nut crusted schnitzel on Pesach and sometimes I find the nuts get a bit oily and heavy, even from the oven. But that was with all nuts. This looks like a nice compromise.
I see you have 101 cookbooks on your site list! I’m in love with that site. So many great recipes.
[...] the latest edition of kcc this morning, I clicked a link to Mimi’s kitchen to read her recipe for schnitzel. There one comment by Abbi praising a blog in Mimi’s food sites list attracted my attention [...]
Gorgeous presentation and photography. They look delicious–I can’t wait to make them…
Thanks, Shimshonit. Write a comment to let me know how they turned out!