RPI: Pistachio Crusted Schnitzel w/ Cherry Beet Chutney

The Lowdown:

I've come to really enjoy RPI. At first I always seemed to think of it as a contest -- shocking really -- everything seems to be a contest with me. I had the quirkiest desire to out do Kristy. Which, if you've read her posts you'll know it can be quite daunting. She is a lot more grounded when it comes to cooking. As in, she is much better at planning and executing her plan. Either way, I felt this competitive nature detracted from my over all experience of it. So, as of the last few RPI posts, I've tried to maintain a casual approach. By that I mean, leave it till the last minute. You know, let fear of not being on time kick in. It's a sort of primal instinct (?). Well, maybe not so primal. But whatever it is, it always inspires me to get my ass in gear.

I'm not sure where the inspiration came from for this dish. I had cherries that were over ripe. I had beets, as I always do. I love chutneys. I love pork. The RPI was pistachio. I love schnitzel. I love food that is easy and fast. Well, that solves that. That must have been the train of thought.

I love schnitzel. I love it for breakfast with eggs on it. I love it for lunch in a sandwich. I just love it any way really. But until now, I've never strayed away from the usual way of making it. RPI doesn't like the usual way though. In fact, the whole concept behind RPI was to get the back of your ears wet (is that really a saying?). Wow, if that is a saying it is really stupid. It's actually weirding me out. Furthermore, when did experience start to equal wet ears? Seriously. Way to think that one through creator of said saying.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention! I won RPI again! It seems ironic to gloat about winning when my first paragraph was about not making everything a competition. Bah! We've had a pretty well rounded set of ingredients thus far for our RPI missions. But one thing has been missing. A nut. Well, other than Kristy that is. So, it only seemed logical that one should be selected to play around with (that sounds so wrong when talking about nuts). I'm embarrassing myself now. I'm just going to stop writing.

The Playlist:

2 medium Beets, finely chopped

1 lb Cherries, pitted

5 cloves Garlic, minced

3/4 cup Champagne berry vinegar

3 tbsp Honey

2 tbsp Olive oil

2 tsp Cloves, whole

2 tsp Coriander, whole

1 tbsp Pepper, whole

2 Cinnamon sticks, whole

2 oz Port

1 Pork tenderloin

1 cup Pistachios, crushed

3 Eggs

1 cup Brown rice flour

1 tsp Mustard seed, crushed

1/2 tsp Pepper, ground

The Skinny:

1. In a tea ball combine the coriander, pepper, and cloves.
2. In medium sauce pan: combine tea ball full of spices and the remaining first tier ingredients. Cover and simmer on medium until beets are cooked thoroughly. Remove tea ball and cinnamon and allow chutney to set.
3.  In separate bowls: beat eggs, combined flour and pepper, and combined mustard seeds and pistachios.
4. Using a meat tenderizer, pound the pork (or chicken) until it is as thin as possible before tearing.
5. Heat oil in a large skillet.
6. Dredge the tenderized pork in the flour, then the eggs, then the pistachios. Ensure that it is thoroughly, and evenly coated.
7. Place the schnitzel into the heated skillet and cook (usually about 1-2 minutes per side).
8. Serve with the chutney.

Stay Rad -h

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