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I made this the other night and it was excellent. A true dinner party meal without the fuss and no one would be none the wiser as it tastes wonderful. You can prepare the pork rolls earlier so you can just put it all in a pan and leave it to cook so you do not miss out on socialising with guests. If you would like to see more photos of this or read more reviews please click here. This can also be made with veal or turkey escalopes but the sauce remains the same.
Ingredients
8 Pork escalopes or thin pork steaks
Salt and pepper
400g Good quality pork sausage
1/2 Onion, peeled and very finely diced
1 Teaspoon fresh mixed herbs or 1/4 teaspoon dried herbs
1 Teaspoon olive oil
4 Shallots, peeled and finely diced
2 Tablespoons plain flour
2 Tablespoons sun-dried tomato paste
750ml Medium sweet white wine
500g Fresh mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 Teaspoon dried orange peel or grated fresh orange zest
Bouquet Garni
Bay leaf
Parsley
Thyme
Sage leaf
Kitchen string
Method
1. Flatten the pork escalopes or pork steaks with the flat of a large knife. Salt and pepper generously.
2. Mix the finely diced onion with the sausage meat and add the herbs – mixing well with your hands. Season with black pepper.
3. Place a spoonful of the seasoned sausage meat on each pork escalope one-third of the way down the scallop. Roll the escalope around the sausage meat, tucking the meat around the stuffing until well rolled. Taking about two feet of string, place the bundle in the middle of the string, and tie; turn one-quarter turn and tie again; turn again and tie again. When you have a neatly tied packet of pork and stuffing, clip off any excess string and proceed to tie up the rest of the pork escalopes.
4. Place pork parcels in a single layer in a hot, deep sauté pan with olive oil. Brown on all sides and remove from the pan.
5. Sauté the chopped shallots in the oil left in the pan. Stir until they start to colour, then add the flour and the tomato paste. Continue to cook and stir until the mixture starts to colour then add nearly the whole bottle of wine, reserving a glass for yourself if you wish!
6. Place the pork paupiettes back in the pan with the bouquet garni and the sauce, cover, and simmer slowly for forty-five to sixty minutes.
7. Add the sliced mushrooms and orange zest to the sauce and cook uncovered for another fifteen minutes.
To freeze: Place them in a plastic container with greaseproof paper in between them, or in a ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Serve 2 paupiettes per person,I served mine with potato dauphinoise or you could serve with seasonal vegetables or rice or pasta.
All photos taken by me unless otherwise stated.
This is a wonderful recipe I made this with lamb shanks as I was only making for 2. I added more vegetables to make this a good main dish, as I am trying to cook less starchy carbs in the evening and I would usually serve this over mash potato to soak up all the gravy. I will look forward to trying this again with a leg of lamb when I am cooking for more people either way it works really well. The lamb comes out so tender and really is just falling apart. I had to literally hold the meat on the bone so it looked good enough for a photo. A truly excellent recipe that would be a definite crowd pleaser. If you want to read more reviews or see more photos of this dish please click here.
Ingredients
1 (3 kg) Leg of lamb (I did lamb shanks as I was only making for 2)
4 onions, peeled and sliced
8-12 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
4 large carrots, peeled and quartered length ways
300 ml white wine
300 ml stock (I did half chicken and half beef as it was not listed.)
2 tablespoons armagnac or madeira wine
salt and pepper
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 Sprigs fresh rosemary (my addition)
As I said above I added more vegetables being parsnips and leeks along with the carrots and onions, I halved the onion amount as I was adding 2 leeks to mix it up a bit. I also thickened at the end with some chicken gravy granules not many as to spoil the wonderful natural taste the lamb had imparted into the liquid stock.
Method
TRADITIONAL OVEN METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 120 degrees C or 100 F, gas mark 1/2. Season the leg of lamb with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Put the casserole or roasting tin on the hob and brown the lamb thoroughly on all sides (it is important to do this now as the meat will not brown in the oven). If the lamb sticks add a little oil to the casserole. Use the cooker extractor fan to disperse any smoke. Drain away any fat that has gathered in the bottom of the pan.
3. Add the vegetables to the casserole along with the white wine and stock. Season and bring to the boil.
4. Put on the lid or cover tightly with tin foil and place in the pre heated oven. Bake for 7 hours, turning twice during this time. The meat will be cooked after 5 hours and offer no resistance to the knife.
5. The meat requires no resting time when cooked in this way. Transfer the meat and vegetables to a serving platter. Strain the meat juices into a jug and pour or blot away the fat with kitchen paper. Pour the juices into a pan and boil vigorously until reduced by a quarter.
6. Adjust the seasoning and add the Armagnac or Madeira. Garnish the lamb with the sprigs of thyme and serve with the sauce. Use a spoon to carve and serve the lamb – a la cuillere as the French call it. It will be tender, succulent and delicious !
CROCK-POT COOKING METHOD
1. Carry out steps 3 and 4 as shown above; then place into the crock-pot and cook on high for 2 hours and then on low for about 6 hours, or until the lamb is cooked as instructed above – soft and spoonable!
Serve as before.
All photos taken by me unless otherwise stated.
