Joan Nathans Classic Israeli Schnitzel Recipes

JOAN NATHAN'S CLASSIC CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300. Grease the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
• Melt the butter and combine with the graham cracker crumbs. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. Save some crumbs.
• Combine the egg yolks, cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and flour. Beat very well until light and fluffy.
• Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into cream cheese mixture. Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle with the remaining graham cracker crumbs.
• Bake 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave cake in the oven 1 additional hour. Then leave the oven door ajar 30 minutes more. (This prevents cracking).

PENGUIN BUFFET'S CLASSIC ISRAELI SCHNITZEL

Steps:

• 1. Place one cutlet at a time inside a large plastic bag. With a meat mallet, pound the turkey or chicken slice as thin as possible and season well with salt and pepper.
• 2. Spread the flour on a flat plate. Break the eggs into a pie plate and beat well. Put the bread crumbs on a third plate.
• 3. Pour the oil into a heavy skillet to a depth of 1 inch and heat over a medium flame until almost smoking.
• 4. Dip each turkey or chicken breast in flour, then in egg, and then in bread crumbs.
• 5. Fry the schnitzels for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
• 6. Drain the schnitzels on a plate lined with paper towel. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
• NOTE: You can also bake the breaded schnitzels in a 350-degree oven for a few minutes ahead of time. Then, just before serving, deep-fry quickly to crisp the outside.
• • This dish, a variation on veal schnitzel from Central Europe, is a classic example of the transformations common in Israeli cooking. Before Israel's swamps were drained in the 1950s to irrigate the desert, there was not enough grassland to pasture cows. Thus the first Central European Jewish settlers adapted one of their native dishes to use turkey meat, more easily raised in desert conditions. Subsequent immigrants have added twists from their own backgrounds, such as Yemeni Jews adding the Middle Eastern spice blend hawayij.