Pork schnitzel with lemon and parsley potatoes

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 800g potatoes, cut into chunky pieces if large
• 4 pork escalopes
• 75g plain flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 100g breadcrumbs
• 40g Parmesan, finely grated, optional
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 25g butter
• 1 lemon
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Get the potatoes going

Put the potatoes into a large pan of well-salted cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for 15–20 minutes until tender, then drain well and leave them to steam dry for a minute or two. Wet potatoes are nobody’s friend here.

2. Prep the pork

Lay the pork escalopes between 2 sheets of baking paper or cling film and bash them gently with a rolling pin or meat mallet until evenly thin. You are after something tender and quick-cooking, not utterly obliterated.

3. Set up the coating

Put the flour into one shallow bowl and season it with salt and black pepper. Put the beaten eggs into a second bowl. In a third bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with the Parmesan if using. This is the moment to get organised, because breadcrumbing is always easier when you are not improvising halfway through.

4. Coat the schnitzels

Dip each pork escalope first into the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs, pressing them on lightly so they stick properly. Set them aside on a plate while you finish the rest.

5. Dress the potatoes

Tip the drained potatoes back into the warm pan and add half the lemon zest, half the lemon juice, most of the parsley and a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Toss gently so they get coated without breaking up too much. They want to feel fresh and properly seasoned, not like an afterthought.

6. Fry the schnitzels

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Once the butter is foaming, cook the schnitzels for 2–3 minutes on each side until golden, crisp and cooked through. Do this in batches if needed rather than cramming the pan and undoing your good work.

7. Finish properly

Lift the schnitzels onto a plate lined with kitchen paper for a moment, then squeeze over a little lemon juice while still hot. Add the remaining lemon zest to the potatoes and give them one last gentle toss.

8. Serve

Serve the pork schnitzels straight away with the lemon and parsley potatoes alongside. Finish with the remaining parsley and lemon wedges on the side, because this is very much the sort of dish that benefits from one last sharp squeeze at the table.

A couple of helpful notes

- Panko breadcrumbs will give you an especially crisp finish, but ordinary fresh breadcrumbs do a perfectly decent job too.
- If the escalopes are very large, you can cut them in half after cooking for easier serving, though a full schnitzel on the plate does look the part.
- A simple green salad alongside works very nicely if you want to lighten things up a little.