Chicken schnitzel is one of those things that most people love (including myself), but the serving of a schnitzel is normally so very ordinary. It is also not the prettiest piece of meat to plate, lol. They are normally accompanied by mash potato (or some form of potato) and will most likely be drenched in one sauce or another. I was craving a schnitzel but wanted to create a slightly different taste experience.
I decided to accompany the schnitzel with roast vegetables, a light serving of spiced cous cous and some fresh avo. As far as the roast veg - I also decided to do something a little bit different by preparing them "katzutz" style - which essentially means that I finely chopped them. I actually bought the "already chopped" pack of roasting veg, but with the end result that I wanted, I obviously had to dice everything further. The packs of roasting veg consist of a mix of potato, sweet potato, green bell pepper, carrot, butternut and red onion.
Schnitzel is normally served with a slice of lemon to squeeze over the meat, so instead - I decided to prep mimic that flavour on the plate by seasoning the veg with freshly ground salt and pepper, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a generous amount of freshly cut lemon thyme from the garden as well as a few sprigs of rosemary and then lastly, a few dribbles of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.
I popped that into the oven at 250 degrees Celsius for approx. 30 minutes as it was a very large pack of roasting veg - my intention being to cook enough for two nights. I usually do that so I get a couple of nights off during the week... but if you are preparing for enough for one or two people and a single serving, the volume of veg would be less than half of this and would probably only take about 10 min in the oven at that temp - closer to the top of the oven so that you get the nice golden roasted edges on the veg.
While the roast veg were busy, I prepped the cous cous. I am not sure how many of you prepare your cous cous on the stove top... but if any of you do - I have to beg the question... WHY!!! haha! Cous cous is one of those incredibly tasty sides on a plate and so very easy to prepare, without even touching a pot.
All you need is a bowl with a lid (or some cling film if it does not have a lid), a kettle and obviously the cous cous. You add the same amount of water as cous cous. So, if you use a cup of dry cous cous, then you will add one cup of boiling water immediately after it has boiled.
Stir it in with a fork and leave it for about 30 seconds - it will absorb most of the water. Then add a dollop of olive oil and stir that through thoroughly, but quickly so not too much of the heat escapes. Pat it all flat gently with a fork and pop the lid on, or seal it with the cling film and leave it for a minimum of 20 minutes.
I have a little "secret" with my cous cous, which has proven very popular with most people over the years... that being, I add a little bit of "rice spice" along with the dry cous cous. It really takes it up a level!
Shortly before you want to serve the cous cous you will need to separate it. This is most easily done with a fork... scraping through it with the tips of the fork initially and then in different directions with the side of the fork until it separates in crumbly cous cous deliciousness!
Once the schnitzels were cooked, which only takes about 15 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius, it was time to dish. I decided to spice things up a little instead of the traditional style sauce sides and plated the schnitzels with some chipotle sauce, which for those of you who are not familiar, is a hot, spicy and incredibly tasty sauce used in many Mexican dishes.
The end result was a fantastic melody of flavours and I really enjoyed the vibrancy of taste, but as far as my plating this time around... meh! I was very disappointed... lol, mostly because I ummed and aaah'd for ages on what to do and kept changing my mind lol. Eventually, I just got frustrated and did "whatever". Definitely not my finest moment as far as plating goes haha - but it was what it was.... at least the flavour experience made up for it, lol!
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Until next time...
Much Love from Cape Town, South Africa xxx
Jaynielea
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