Thursday 27 August 2009

Recipe: Pork Loin Roast with Emmental & Prosciutto Crudo


Loosely translated from Julia Child's classic Porc Sylvie this version takes the recipe south of the Alps, with a slightly edgier flavour to the stuffing, and a sauce which without question will knock your socks off! As with all roasts of this kind, the meat is equally delicious served either hot, or cold the following day, or else carefully re-heated several days later in a 100 degree C oven, wrapped in foil.


For six.


Ingredients: boned and rolled loin of pork, about 5" in length; 75g finely sliced Emmental; 75g sliced Prosciutto Crudo (parma ham); 4 slices of fatty bacon (optional); 2 medium Carrots, finely diced; 2 medium Onions, finely diced; 30g Butter; 2 tablespoons Olive Oil; 1 cup Marsala; seasoning.


Method:


1.Heat the oven to 220 degrees C.


2. With three longitudinal cuts, open the pork loin as though unrolling a swiss roll, so that it forms a flattish rectangle of meat. Season the rectangle, then cover with slices of Emmental, and then slices of Prosciutto Crudo. Roll up the rectangle to re-form its original shape, and tie with string. (If your butcher has left no layer of fat around the loin, then before you string it, cover the loin with the optional slices of fatty bacon)


3. Melt the Butter over medium heat, along with the Oil, in a pan which can subsequently act as a roasting dish in the oven.


4. Colour the pork loin all over (takes about fifteen minutes) in the Oil/Butter mixture, then remove from the pan. Sauté the diced Onion and Carrot for about twenty minutes in the same pan, until wilted and golden, but not coloured. Return the loin to the pan, on top of the vegetables and place the pan in the pre-heated oven.


5. Roast until the meat is done - it should take about forty minutes.


6. Once the meat is done, remove it from the pan to rest for ten minutes or so in a warm oven.


7. Meanwhile, place the pan which contains the now blackened vegetables over medium-high heat and add to it the Marsala. Cook, stirring continuously, until the liquid has reduced to a consistency which starts to look syrupy (as with all sauces of this kind, you need only a spoonful of sauce per serving, so don't be hesitant in reducing with enthusiasm!).


8. Press the contents of the pan through a fine sieve, and add one spoonful of sauce to two slices of cooked loin for each serving. The combined flavours of cooking juices, marsala, and melted cheese are sensational!