The Hirshon Schnitzel à la Holstein

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Wiener Schnitzel (a pounded, breaded and fried veal cutlet) is one of the great Austrian dishes, but I also dearly love its dressed-up German cousin Schnitzel à la Holstein.

Named after Baron Friedrich von Holstein (1837–1909), the primary German diplomat after Otto von Bismarck, serving Kaiser Wilhelm II.

The gourmet Holstein liked to have a variety of foods on one plate, and the original dish consisted of a veal cutlet topped by a fried egg, anchovies, capers, and parsley, and surrounded by small piles of caviar, crayfish tails, smoked salmon, mushrooms, and truffles.

Contemporary versions tend to be pared down to the cutlet, egg, anchovies and capers. That said, if you’re so inclined (and I occasionally am) please feel free to go back to the original garnishes for a true Lucullian feast! 🙂

As noted on saveur.com:

There’s the basic wiener schnitzel—a veal cutlet pounded tender, breaded, and fried—found, with different regional flourishes, throughout central and northern Europe.

This revamp was cooked up in the late 19th century at the Berlin restaurant Borschardt, to please the palate of one Friedrich von Holstein. The crisp-fried veal topped with luscious egg and salty anchovies and capers is a brilliant study in contrasting flavors and textures.

My tweak to the original recipe is to add flowering thyme buds to the dish – feel free to substitute fresh thyme leaves or omit, as you see fit.

Also be sure and keep your eggs yolks runny, as they are an integral part of the sauce for this dish. The anchovies must be meaty and of top-quality as well.

It’s not a difficult recipe and I hope you will give it a try, Citizens! 🙂

Battle on, The Generalissimo

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