Today we’re heading to Germany — a country where cooking has been elevated into a cult of substance and flavor. Two iconic dishes of German cuisine that will warm the soul and win over the stomach.
Crispy, golden pork schnitzel in the finest breadcrumb coating — the calling card of German home cooking. Thinly pounded meat in a crunchy breadcrumb crust, tender and juicy inside, served with a lemon wedge and potato salad.
Ingredients (for 2 servings):
• Boneless pork loin — 2 pieces of 180–200 g each
• Wheat flour — 80 g
• Chicken eggs — 2
• Fine breadcrumbs — 150 g
• Salt — to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper — to taste
• Vegetable oil for frying — 300 ml
• Butter — 30 g
• Lemon — 1
• Fresh parsley — for serving
Preparation:
Step 1. Preparing the meat.
Place each piece of pork between 2 sheets of cling film. Using a meat mallet, pound the meat evenly to a thickness of 4–5 mm, working from the center outward. The meat should be uniformly thin, with no tears or holes. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
Step 2. Setting up the breading station.
Prepare 3 wide, shallow plates. Put the flour in the first. Crack the eggs into the second and lightly beat them with a fork until smooth, adding a pinch of salt. Pour the breadcrumbs into the third. Arrange the plates in a line — this is the classic German three-step breading process.
Step 3. Breading the schnitzel.
Coat each piece of meat in flour first, shaking off the excess. Then dip it into the egg mixture, letting the excess drip away. Finally, place it in the breadcrumbs and gently press so the crumbs cover the entire surface evenly. Don’t press the breading too hard — it should stay airy.
Step 4. Heating the oil.
Pour vegetable oil into a wide frying pan (at least 28 cm in diameter), making a layer around 1.5 cm deep. Heat over medium heat to 170–175 °C. Test it: drop in a pinch of breadcrumbs — they should sizzle and bubble actively at once, but not burn.
Step 5. Frying the schnitzel.
Carefully lower the schnitzel into the hot oil. Fry for 2.5–3 minutes on the first side, gently shaking the pan in circular motions — this lets the oil wash over the schnitzel’s surface, creating an airy “cushion” between the meat and the breading. The crust should turn an even golden amber.
Step 6. Turning and finishing.
Turn the schnitzel with a spatula or tongs. Add the butter to the pan — it will foam and give the breading a nutty aroma. Fry for another 2–2.5 minutes until golden. When tapped, a finished schnitzel makes a muted, crisp sound, and its breading is evenly golden with no dark spots.
Step 7. Serving.
Place the schnitzel on a plate lined with a paper towel for 20–30 seconds to remove excess oil. Transfer it to a warm plate. Garnish with a lemon wedge and a sprig of parsley. Serve immediately — schnitzel is eaten only hot, while the breading still crunches. The classic side dish is potato salad or fresh cabbage salad.
💡 Fact: Schnitzel is so popular in Germany that there is a “Schnitzelindex” — an unofficial economic indicator used to compare the cost of living in different cities across the country, much like the “Big Mac Index.”
Thick, velvety potato soup with smoked meats and vegetables — the embodiment of German comfort and Gemütlichkeit. Rich and warming, with the smoky aroma of sausages and fresh herbs — this is a dish that has been cooked in Germany from generation to generation.
Ingredients (for 4 servings):
• Potatoes (a floury variety) — 800 g
• Smoked sausages (Mettwurst or lightly smoked hunter’s sausages) — 200 g
• Bacon — 100 g
• Yellow onions — 2 medium
• Carrot — 1 large
• Celeriac — 100 g
• Leek — 1 stalk
• Garlic — 2 cloves
• Meat stock (beef or chicken) — 1.2 l
• 20% cream — 100 ml
• Butter — 30 g
• Bay leaves — 2
• Nutmeg — a pinch (freshly ground)
• Dried thyme — 1 tsp.
• Salt — to taste
• Ground white pepper — to taste
• Fresh chives (or scallions) — for serving
Preparation:
Step 1. Preparing the vegetables.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1.5×1.5 cm cubes — an even size will ensure they cook down uniformly. Dice the onions into 5 mm cubes. Cut the carrot and celeriac into 1 cm cubes. Slice the leek lengthwise, rinse it thoroughly to remove any sand, and cut it into 5 mm half-moons (use the white and light-green parts). Finely chop the garlic.
Step 2. Frying the bacon.
Cut the bacon into thin strips 5 mm wide. In a heavy-bottomed pot (at least 4 l in volume), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the bacon and fry for 4–5 minutes, stirring, until it turns golden and crisp and renders its fat. The bacon needs to be properly crisp, not rubbery.
Step 3. Sautéing the vegetables.
Add the onions to the bacon. Fry for 3–4 minutes until soft and lightly translucent, without letting them burn. Add the carrot, celeriac, and garlic. Sauté for another 3 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften slightly around the edges and a sweet aroma emerges.
Step 4. Cooking the soup base.
Add the potatoes to the pot. Pour in the hot meat stock — it should cover the vegetables by 2 cm. Add the bay leaves and thyme. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low. Cook for 20–25 minutes with the lid slightly ajar. The potatoes are ready when they pierce easily with a fork and begin to break apart slightly at the edges.
Step 5. Creating the texture.
Remove the bay leaves. Using an immersion blender, purée roughly half the soup directly in the pot — 3–4 short pulses. The soup should turn creamy, but still have noticeable pieces of potato and vegetables. This creates its distinctive German texture — velvety and “rustic” at once. Add the leek and cook for another 5 minutes — it should become soft while retaining a slight crunch.
Step 6. Smoked sausages and final touches.
Slice the sausages into rounds 7–8 mm thick. Add them to the soup. Pour in the cream, then add the nutmeg and white pepper. Stir and warm over low heat for 5 minutes — the soup must not boil after the cream is added. Taste and adjust the salt. The soup should be thick and enveloping — a spoon drawn across the surface leaves a trail that slowly closes over.
Step 7. Serving.
Ladle the soup into deep, warm plates or ceramic bowls. Generously sprinkle with finely chopped chives. If desired — add a spoonful of sour cream in the center and a couple of drops of pumpkin seed oil. Serve with slices of fresh rye bread. The soup gets even better the next day — the starch from the potatoes thickens the broth further.
💡 Fact: Kartoffelsuppe is one of Germany’s oldest soups, appearing in the XVIII century, when Frederick the Great practically forced Prussian peasants to grow potatoes by issuing special decrees. Today, Germany has more than 30 regional variations of this soup, and the city of Munich holds an annual potato soup festival.