Saltimbocca-style pork
Saltimbocca alla Romana is a classic Italian dish. The opinions about the origin of the dish are divided. Some think it comes from Rome while others believe it comes from Brescia. But nevertheless the name of the dish refers to the Italian"salti in bocca" which means jumps in the mouth…and that is exactly what these little delicate pieces of meat do.
Equipment
- tooth pics, sharp knife
Ingredients
- 600 g pork fillet, cleaned, sliced into 1 cm thick rounds
- 30-40 fresh sage leaves
- 6-8 slices parma ham or 8-12 slices streaky bacon, cut to size covering the pork pieces (you need one piece of ham or bacon for each slice of pork)
- olive oil for frying
- salt and pepper
- 150 ml sweet sherry
Instructions
- Take one slice of pork and top it first with one piece of parma ham or bacon and then top the ham (bacon) with one sage leaf.
- Secure the ham (bacon) and the sage leaf with one tooth pic, making sure the meat stays flat. Continue with the remaining ingredients.
- Heat some olive oil in a non-stick pan.
- Put some of the pork pieces , sage side down into the pan and fry them for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Season them with a little bit of salt and some freshly ground black pepper, while they frying sage side down.
- When the sides of pork meat change colour you can turn the pieces around and fry the other side for 1 to 2 minutes. The pork must be done.
- You want some caramelization on the meat, so the temperature should be medium to high.
- When you are finished with all the meat and it is resting on a plate, turn the heat on high and deglace the pan with the sherry. Cook the liquid for 2 to 4 minutes.
- Make sure that you catch all the little bits and pieces from frying the meat.
- Pour the pan juices over the pork and serve.
- You can serve the saltimbocca-style pork warm or at room temperature.