I made this meal when I lived in Austria as it was easy and you could feed and army if needed with the least fuss. It does take a bit of time to prepare. Bit “peasant” so no fancy little gimmicks here. It consist out of 3 things. A Schnitzel, Ratatouille and fried egg. I changed the ratatouille a little.  Lets begin with the Schnitzel. Before you start, to prevent meat flying all over the kitchen. Take a clear plastic bag, fairly large or a few layers of cling film. Place the meat inside the bag or if using the cling film fold it in half with the meat between the layers. No flatten the meat with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Thin as possible. Avoid turning it into a “rag”. Meaning full of holes.

Try to use fresh breadcrumbs. To put a bit of “zing” to the schnitzel, you can add some finely chopped parsley and garlic and grated lemon zest. Amounts up to taste. Dry breadcrumbs will do, but does not taste the same. You will need three bowls. One with flour, one with beaten egg (add bit of water to egg) and one with the breadcrumb mixture. Always remember these three letters, F E B. Flour, egg, breadcrumbs. This is the sequence. After the schnitzel is crumbed, put in fridge for the time.

Ratatouille Ingredients:
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 green pepper
1 courgette - medium
1 aubergine - medium
1 onion - medium
1 or 2 garlic cloves - according to taste
1 tin tomatoes
tomato paste
Dried herbs or fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, parsley, oregano)
Salt and black pepper
Olive oil
 
Directions
Chop the peppers, courgette, aubergine and onion into small blocks. Crush the garlic. Now heat olive oil in pot. Add paste and fry briefly. Add onions, peppers and garlic. After a few minutes the courgettes and aubergine. Sweat. Add tin tomatoes. I drain the tomatoes first and keep the juice. It prevents the mixture of becoming to watery. Always add if to dry. Be careful that the paste does not burn. Add herbs and season. Allow to simmer until cooked through and vegetables are tender. It should not be watery at all. I always add a little bit of sugar in any dish that has a tomato base. It is up to you.

Now shallow fry the schnitzel  in oil until golden brown. Be careful that the oil is not to hot. Schnitzel will burn and be dry and over cooked. You can fry the egg in same pan if oil is not to dirty. Place schnitzel on large plate. Put some ratatouille on top and the fried egg on top of that. That is it. You may put a few rashers of crispy bacon on the schnitzel before you place ratatouille on top. It is my own creation, made in the winter for lunch to feed the hungry skiers. It is quick to serve as I used to make the ratatouille in advance and the schnitzels. So al I had to do was heat up the ratatouille, fry the schnitzel and egg and serve with a big glass of German Beer. Not that SAB rubbish.

If you have any leftover schnitzel is very nice after a night out in town. Make schnitzel sandwiches. Buttered bread roll, lettuce and mayoniase. Will keep the teenagers happy who is always on the scavenge for food at the most incovenient hour.