This weeks insourcing #17...why I make my own Veal Parmy....

 

This week, someone asked me why I bother making my own Veal Parmagiana, when we could just go to the local club and get one each for $7.95 or buy a frozen or ready made one to go straight in the pan from the supermarket or butcher. The whole point of their question was that it was all too hard to make it yourself, if you can go somewhere and buy it already done.

 

I said that making my own Parmy (as its fondly called here), as well as DIYing a heap of other stuff around Chez Mimi, means that I can shop in a street market on the Cote d`Azur in France, eating rosy radishes straight from a market garden...

 

 

...and that I could wander the gardens of a centuries old Villa in Tuscany, tasting their olive oil and home made biscotti with honeyed sweet dessert wine....

 

 

....and finally get to see Positano with my very own eyes...

 

 

...and the incredible masterpiece that it Gaudis' Church of the Sacred Family in Barcelona, which simply cannot be appreciated from photographs alone....

 

 

....and the ruins at Pompeii, which Mum and I used to discuss at length when I was just a child, and which I never dreamed I'd see....

 

 

...tasting raspberries still warm from the sun...

 

 

...wandering the cobblestone streets of Mykonos...

 

 

...and the Mosques of Istanbul...

 

 

...the magnificent ruins at Ephesus in Turkey where Christianity was born (or so it's said)...

 

 

...and not forgetting the visit to the British National Gallery in London on the way to all those other sights, scents and sounds...

 

 

....it means that my 15 year old daughter will NEVER feel the need for a Parmy at the Pub...she knows there are far better things in life that are worth saving for....

 

...that's why I make my own Parmy.   You can too....and in time...you will reap the rewards.   Mimi's Own Veal Parmagiana   For 4-6 serves   500 gms Veal steak (chicken fillets work well too) 2/3 cup plain (all purpose) flour on a flat plate 2/3-1 1/2 cups almond meal (or breadcrumbs) on a second flat plate 3 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese 1-1 1/2 cups grated tasty cheese 1 tin peeled tomatoes 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 2 sprigs fresh thyme 1 beef stock cube 2 eggs, beaten in a bowl Salt and pepper Oil for pan frying   Cut the veal steaks in half and pound with a mallet until paper thin.   Put the tinned tomatoes in a small saucepan, mash them well, and add the thyme, stock cube, garlic and a little salt and pepper. Bring this to the boil, reduce the heat to very low, and allow the liquid to evaporate, so that you have a thick slushy paste. Check on it frequently, stirring often. This should take about half an hour.   Mix the grated parmesan into the almond meal or breadcrumbs on the plate. This is what you'll use to crumb your steaks.   While the tomato reduction is simmering, dip each flattened veal steak in flour, then into the beaten egg, then into the almond meal/parmesan mixture. Press the mixture firmly onto each steak, and set them aside on another plate once done. Repeat until all steaks are 'crumbed'. Put them into the fridge to set the crumb coating for about 10-15 minutes.   Heat about three tablespoons of Olive Oil in a large frypan. When sizzling hot, drop in two to three of the crumbed veal steaks. Pan fry until light golden brown. These are very thin remember, so will cook quickly, but you really want that crumb coating nice and firm and golden once cooked. You may need to add a little more oil for each batch you cook.   Drain the cooked steaks well, on some absorbent kitchen paper.   Set each batch of cooked steaks aside on a baking tray, and top with a spoonful of the tomato puree paste, spreading it over the surface of your steak. Top this with a generous sprinkle of grated tasty cheese.   Once all of your steaks are cooked and topped with yummy sauce and cheese, put them under a grill (broiler) heated to high, and leave them there till that cheese is bubbly and golden brown.   Now they're ready to serve, with a crisp salad, and a chewy Ciabatta with olive oil and balsamic vinegar in little dishes, on the side. Tear off some Ciabatta, dip in the olive oil, then into the balsamic, eat....heaven.   Who needs Pub Parmy, when Mimi's Parmy can take you to Italy ;-)   ...Mimi...