Recipe: Wiener Schnitzel

One thing I wish I had when I was a fresher was a nice stack of cheap, student-friendly recipes. I spent day after day eating omelettes or cheese on toast and I quickly grew sick of them. So, I thought I would try my hand at some easy to follow recipes with all the important information you'd need (like cost).

We love a bit of German in this household, whether it's beer, music or food and one of our all-time favourite dinners is schnitzel and chips (or bratkartoffeln when we have a bit more time on our hands). It's incredibly easy to make, tastes great and won't break the bank.

Ingredients (makes six schnitzels)

2 medium eggs

2 tablespoons water

240g plain flour (or enough to cover a chopping board)

150g breadcrumbs (have some more spare just in case)

3 pork chops 

Enough vegetable oil to fill a frying pan

Cost

Eggs (half a dozen): 70p Tesco

Flour 1.5kg: 45p Tesco

Breadcrumbs 227g: £1 Tesco

Pork chops 700g: £2.03 Tesco

Oil 1L: £1.10

Actual cost: £3.11

Cost per schnitzel: 52p 

Recipe

This will take 10-15 minutes, so put your chips in the oven beforehand.

1. Cut the pork chops in half and tenderise until you have six thin escalopes.

2. Cover the meat in flour.

3. Prepare an egg wash beating the eggs and water together in a bowl and soak the meat in it. 

4. Cover newly-soaked meat in breadcrumbs, making sure they are fully covered.

5. Put the oil in the pan, making sure it's 1-2cm deep and allow to heat.

6. Place the escalopes carefully in the oil, allowing to cook for a couple of minutes before flipping and cooking for a further two minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden-brown.

7. Dry off excess oil using kitchen roll.

8. Serve with chips and your choice of vegetables. We tend to go for spinach and some ketchup on the side. 

Optional: add a dash of lemon juice and a sprig of parsley to taste.

And there you have it, a simple meal that's a bit different to the usual student slop.