Stuffed schnitzel Italian style with vegetable pasta

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 2 pork schnitzels (150 g each)
• 10 basil leaves, cut into thin strips
• 1 tbsp pine nuts roasted in a pan and then chopped
• 80g mozzarella
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 egg(s)
• 1 tbsp milk or cream
• Breadcrumbs and/or panko
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• Sunflower oil
• 400 g zucchini
• 100 g carrot(s)
• 2 tbsp olive oil or other oil
• some vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• 1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• Salt
• pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 55 minutes

Prepare all ingredients accordingly, pat the meat dry. Wash, dry, and thinly slice the basil leaves. Roast 1 tablespoon of pine nuts in a pan without fat. Wash and dry the vegetables. Peel the carrot thinly. Cut the mozzarella into approximately 1 cm cubes. Peel the zucchini with a julienne cutter. If you don’t have one, cut it into thin strips with a knife. Peel or slice only down to the core. Do the same with the carrots. Place both in a bowl and season with salt, pepper, and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Set aside. For the filling, mix the sliced ​​basil with the chopped pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, and diced mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper. The mixture should form a firm, cohesive mass. First, flatten the meat, then season with salt and pepper. Place the filling on the bottom half, leaving about 1 cm of space from the edge. (Note: I brushed the edges with a little of the egg yolk I used later for breading to help the whole thing stick together. I’m telling you, this is my first stuffed schnitzel.) Place the uncovered half on top of the other and gently press down the edges. Prepare three plates for breading. Put 2 tablespoons of flour on the first plate, break the egg into 1 tablespoon of milk on the second plate, and mix the breadcrumbs with the sesame seeds on the last plate (use panko breadcrumbs or a blender if necessary). Now bread the schnitzel as follows: First, coat it in the flour, then in the egg-milk mixture, and finally, place it on the breadcrumb mixture and carefully turn it over. Do not press the coating down. Set the schnitzels aside. Now you’ll need to multitask a bit if you want to cook the noodles and meat at the same time. Heat enough oil for the schnitzels in a pan (I set my stovetop to 7.5 out of 9 for this). Once the oil is hot enough, add the schnitzels. Heat a second pan and, once hot enough, add the marinated vegetable noodles and fry, stirring occasionally. Turn the schnitzel over occasionally as the edges begin to turn golden. As soon as the vegetable noodles begin to brown, deglaze with the broth and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and remove from the heat. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of sour cream and season with salt and pepper, if desired. The schnitzel should be cooked by now; remove them from the pan and let them drain briefly on a kitchen towel. Arrange the vegetable noodles and schnitzel on plates. Serve with a small salad.