Stuffed Pepper Schnitzel
Also known as “fake schnitzel”, this version is golden and crispy on the outside, red and juicy on the inside. The Cheese stuffing is optional.
Ingredients (serves 4)
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4 sweet red peppers
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Olive oil for frying
For the Stuffing -
1 large ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 8 slices
For the Breading -
1/3 cup flour
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Salt and freshly ground black pepper
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1 egg
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1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
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The leaves of two sprigs of thyme
Roast the peppers over an open flame or under the grill, in the oven, until the skin blisters and peels off. Allow to cool in a plastic bag or in a covered bowl. Peel the skins and remove the seeds and membranes. Try to keep the peppers whole, but if they break – the breading will glue everything back together.
Stuff each pepper with two slices of mozzarella cheese.
Prepare separate dishes with seasoned flour, beaten egg diluted with a little water and breadcrumbs seasoned with thyme leaves. Dip the peppers in flour, shake off the excess flour, dip in the beaten egg and finally dip in the breadcrumbs and press together firmly to ensure good adhesion and form a uniform coating of breadcrumbs. To prevent the stuffing from seeping out, dip once again in egg and breadcrumbs.
Heat the oil to a medium temperature in a heavy frying pan. The level of the oil should be one half the thickness of the schnitzels. Fry the pepper schnitzels 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden. Remove from the oil and serve promptly.
Variations: use goats’ cheese or Ricotta cheese (2 tablespoons per pepper) instead of mozzarella cheese for the stuffing.
photo: Daniel Layla, Styling: Amit Farber