Veal Schnitzel with Capsicum Sauce has been a staple at family gatherings for as long as I can remember. My Italian grandmother has always made it and it is much loved by the whole family. The Schnitzel is always thin and perfectly crisp. The sauce is made of capsicum, onion, and tomatoes. It does not contain much else, but it is slow cooked. This allows all the flavours to meld together and become sweet, delicious, and almost creamy.

The Schnitzel Crumb

When my Nonna makes this, she always uses just plain bread crumbs. Usually, she chooses the Krummies brand that you can find in most supermarkets. It is a really fine crumb. I like to play around with the crumb though. For this recipe, I used half Krummies and half Panko Crumbs for texture. I also added some fresh, finely chopped rosemary. Parmesan was included for extra flavour. This adds a lovely savouriness to the schnitzel crumb which works really well when paired with the sweet capsicum sauce.

A lot of schnitzel recipes call for the meat to be dredged in flour, then egg, then the crumb. We have never bothered with the first step of dredging in the flour. It always turns out delicious. Feel free to add the flour step if that’s what you like and are used to.

The Sauce

The sauce is made from very simple ingredients. It includes capsicum (bell peppers), onion, tomato, and a little olive oil and salt. There is not much to it at all. The thing that makes this sauce special is time! You need to simmer it covered for at least 1.5 hours. This long cooking time breaks down the fibres in the capsicum, onion, and tomato. It creates the almost creamy textured sauce.

The other thing you must do is peel your vegetables. Capsicum and tomato skin are both bitter. If you do not peel them, your sauce will end up bitter rather than sweet. To do this, use a regular vegetable peeler. The tomato will be easier to peel than the capsicum. Just peel it like you would an apple. With the capsicum, peel as much off as you can while it’s whole. Then cut it into segments to reach the peel in the crevasses. It does take some time but is well worth it for the results.

Sauce Serving Suggestions

We always serve this sauce with Schnitzel. We usually make a double batch and freeze it in portions. It is so versatile and goes well with many other things. Below are alternative serving ideas for the Capsicum Sauce:

• Steak – Grill a steak to your liking and top with the capsicum sauce for an extra special midweek meal.
• Fish – Pan fry some white fish fillets in some olive oil and then top with capsicum sauce.
• Pasta – Heat capsicum sauce in a large fry pan, then add your favourite cooked pasta and half a cup of pasta water to the pan, cook together for one minute, then serve hot with a generous sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
• Polenta – Cook polenta as per packet instructions and top with sauce.
• Shakshuka – Heat sauce and place in an oven safe dish, make a couple of round dents in the sauce and crack a couple of eggs into them. Bake in the oven until eggs are cooked but yolks are still runny.
• Toastie – Pop this sauce in a toasted sandwich with some oozie cheese like Provolone or Mozzarella.

Final Thoughts

Veal Schnitzel with Capsicum Sauce is a twist on a old classic, think of a more sophisticated version of a Veal Parmigiana without the stodginess. Serve it with Nonna’s Italian Cabbage Salad and Nonna’s Potato Salad and a glass of Nebbiolo and you have yourself a very scrumptious dinner indeed.

Happy Cooking!