Seared Veal Stack

This tasty combination of veal, a stack of vegetables and an Italian style tomato sauce makes a healthy meal for two. It looks very much like the kind of dish you'd find in a trendy cafe, but it's very quick and easy to prepare at home.

Ingredients

• 2 veal schnitzels
• 1 zucchini
• 1 eggplant
• 1 red capsicum
• 1 red onion
• 75ml olive oil
• 2 slices leg ham
• 2 slices mozzarella cheese
• 2 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (or substitute 1 teaspoon of sugar and the juice of 1/2 lemon)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Method

1. Nick the sides of the schnitzels, then place them between sheets of plastic wrap and flatten with a mallet or the back of a knife.
2. Slice the zucchini, eggplant, capsicum and half the red onion very thinly and sear in oil in a very hot pan. On a plate, layer the vegetables in two heaps, alternating each kind of vegetable. (This is an interim step only - each heap is later removed from the plate and placed, as a stack, on top of the veal.)
3. Sear the veal pieces in the same hot pan.
4. Place the veal pieces on a baking dish (or a dinner plate); top each veal piece with a ham slice, a vegetable heap and a slice of cheese.
   
5. o make the sauce, chop up the remainder of the red onion and brown it in the veal pan.
6. Throw in the diced tomatoes, along with the fresh basil leaves and the balsamic vinegar.
   
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and toss over a medium heat until just cooked.
8. Place the veal mounds under a very hot grill to melt the cheese, then when they're done, serve with the tomato sauce.

Copyright CTC Productions 1999