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Schnitzel with bell pepper and onion sauce on a plate.
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Zigeunerschnitzel (Gypsy's Schnitzel) - Bell Pepper Sauce for Schnitzel

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Aleksandra

Ingredients

for the Zigeunersoße (bell pepper sauce) - makes extra:

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 medium/large onion
  • 3 bell peppers preferably colorful
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • small pinch of cayenne or to taste
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1/3 cup (80ml) dry red wine
  • 1 1/4 cups (300ml) chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar or to taste
  • salt and pepper to taste

for the Petersillienkartoffeln (parsley potatoes):

  • 2 lbs (900g) potatoes
  • 5 tablespoons (70g) butter
  • 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • salt to taste

for the Schnitzel:

  • 1 lb (450g) chicken breasts
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup (40g) flour
  • 1 cup fine breadcrumbs
  • 6 tablespoons clarified butter or vegetable frying oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Start with making the sauce because it's very easy to warm up. Parsley potatoes are also easy to warm up but are best warm. Schnitzel must be served directly after frying so prepare it at the end!

Make the sauce:

  • Cut the bell peppers and onion into strips. Finely chop garlic.
    1 medium/large onion, 3 bell peppers, 4 cloves garlic
  • Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add bell peppers and onions. Cook for about 10 minutes or until softened and very lightly browned. Make sure to not burn the onions.
    2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • Add garlic, paprika, cayenne, cook for 30 seconds.
    1 teaspoon paprika, small pinch of cayenne
  • Add flour and cook for 1 minute.
    2 tablespoons flour
  • Add wine and cook for 2-3 minutes or until almost evaporated.
    1/3 cup (80ml) dry red wine
  • Add chicken broth, ketchup, tomato paste, and vinegar.
    1 1/4 cups (300ml) chicken broth, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • Cook for a couple of minutes until all the ingredients are well combined and the sauce is thickened.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste. If your sauce is too sweet, add more vinegar (the sweetness may depend on ketchup and the brand of store-bought chicken broth), if you've added too much vinegar, you can add a small pinch of sugar to sweeten it. The sauce should taste mostly sweet but also have a tang to it.
  • Set the sauce aside.

Make the parsley potatoes:

  • Peel the potatoes and cut them into large even-sized chunks. Add to a large pot filled with cold water. Season the water with salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until soft and can be easily pierced with a fork.
    2 lbs (900g) potatoes
  • Drain the potatoes on a sieve and return to the pot.
  • Add the butter and stir gently with a wooden spoon until it's melted and the potatoes are coated in butter.
    5 tablespoons (70g) butter
  • Stir in chopped parsley and season with salt.
    3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Cook Schnitzel:

  • Prepare chicken cutlets: Cut the chicken breast in half horizontally. Place a thick ziplock bag on top and pound the thickest part of each cutlet. The cutlets should be of even thickness, about 1/4-1/3 inch (1/2-3/4 cm).
    1 lb (450g) chicken breasts
  • Prepare the breading: Add the flour to the first shallow plate. In the second, deep plate beat the eggs. Add the breadcrumbs to the third shallow plate.
    2 large eggs, 1/3 cup (40g) flour, 1 cup fine breadcrumbs
  • Bread the chicken: Pat the chicken fillets dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Dredge in flour on both sides (shake with the cutlets allowing excess flour to fall off), then dip in the egg mixture (allow the excess egg to drip back into the bowl), then coat in breadcrumbs until coated on all sides. Place on a clean plate.
  • Fry the cutlets: Add the oil or clarified butter into a large frying pan, warm up until well heated, over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot cook the cutlets on both sides until golden in color and cooked through in the middle.
    6 tablespoons clarified butter or vegetable frying oil

Assemble:

  • Warm up bell pepper sauce (simply in a pan in which you were cooking it) and parsley potatoes (just warm them up briefly in the pot).
  • Place your cooked Schnitzel on a plate, pour over the sauce (preferably just in the center of the Schnitzel and not on the whole surface of the Schnitzel), and serve with parsley potatoes. Make sure to pour the sauce over the Schnitzel just before serving it so it stays crispy.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

You will have enough bell pepper sauce to make a second batch of Schnitzel the next day (so you will need 2 pounds or 1kg of chicken for the whole amount of the sauce).