Z is for Zebra and Zagreb Veal Steak.

And so we come to the end, sadly this is my last post for the A to Z Challenge for 2014. They are a lot of fun to write and I do hope you enjoyed reading them.

I chose the Zebra last year and wasn’t really planning to do so again and then I learned, from a clue on Jeopardy, what the collective noun was for a bunch of Zebras, it is a Dazzle of Zebras. Couldn’t resist writing about that. I discovered last year that there are several species of zebra; I thought they were all the same. The stripes are as different as fingerprints, but each of the three species has similar markings. This is a lovely picture taken by the National Geographic photographers. They say that people are not quite sure why they have stripes but believe it might have something to do with camouflage. A predator would have difficulty focusing on one animal because their appearance is visually broken up, especially if they are running. Family units (especially Plains Zebras, the most numerous) tend to stick together although they might join up with a herd, safety in numbers after all. Lets face it, I get dizzy just looking at this photo, or maybe dazzled. Just picked up some interesting information A comparison of zebra habitats mapped with data about local predators, eco-regions, and insects indicates that a zebra’s stripes are an adapted defense against biting flies, according to a study just published in Nature Communications.

This sounds pretty good although I don’t remember eating it in Yugoslavia as it was called when I was there. We enjoy veal and this dish reminds me a little of chicken cordon bleu. It was a recipe from Food.com

Zagreb Veal Steak

By nitko
Photo by nitko
Serves: 4

About This Recipe

"This is popular meal from Zagreb.

There is some dispute about whether egg should be in it or not, but going through literature I have found that it is a 50-50% chance to find egg. So, it is going to be an egg in it. I think positive. Of course you can do it without egg."

Ingredients

• 700 g veal ( 4 large schnitzels)
• 60 g ham ( cooked smoked farmer's ham)
• 60 g gouda cheese or 60 g swiss cheese
• 2 eggs (hard cooked)
• 200 g breadcrumbs
• 150 g flour
• 3 eggs
• 50 g salt
• 1 lemon
• oil for frying

Directions

1. Beat veal steaks to make them thin.
2. Cut cooked eggs into halves. Slice ham and cheese.
3. Salt steaks from inside and put slice of ham, slice of cheese and ½ egg on one side of steak. Cover with other side to make it look like a pocket. Beat the ends of the steak to close them.
4. Whisk 3 eggs like you are making omelet. Put the steaks into flour, then eggs, then breadcrumbs.
5. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry steaks until golden on both sides (you may use half lard half oil mixture, it is much better).
6. Cut lemon into slices and serve with steaks. We usually eat the steaks with French fried potatoes.

Have a great day