Pork and Comte Escallops

Having got a shed load of breadcrumbs left over from yesterday’s successful haggis adventure I wanted to make sure they didn’t go to waste. As I was in a retro frame of mind  a frozen food classic hoved into view and that noteworthy classic is the “cheese hamwich”. This (in case you missed out) was a ready made, chuck in the oven, midweek meal, it consisted of processed ham (hmmm nice) with layer of cheese flavoured stuff on top all coated in breadcrumbs. As with most oven ready feasts in my youth I thought they were great.

Now older, wiser and wrinklier I’ve adapted the pre-packaged gunk into something passable for an evening meal.

So I popped into Sainsbury’s looking for a flavoursome cheese that would slice easily and melt to gooey goodness when cooked. I opted for some French Comte, I’d never even heard of it before so it was a bit of a gamble and fortunately it paid off as the cheese has strong-ish taste without overpowering the pork

It’s important not to over cook the pork as it can become tough and chewy. If you can’t get pork loin, chops or other steaks are OK but not as tender.

2 Pork Loin steaks

2 Slices of French Comte Cheese

Breadcrumbs

2 Eggs Beaten

Seasoned plain flour

Trim the fat from your pork and place between two sheets of clingfilm.

Using a meat mallet or in my case a rolling ping, gently bat it out so it becomes about 3mm thick and repeat for your other pieces of pork

Top each piece of pork with a slice of the Comte cheese.

Get three bowls and in each one put separately, the flour, egg and breadcrumbs.

First coat your pork/cheese thing in the flour, tapping slightly to remove the excess

The dip in the egg and again coat fully.

Now place into the breadcrumbs and coat thoroughly

Place back in the egg and cover again

Then back into the breadcrumbs to finish the prep of your escallops

(The repetition of egg and breadcrumbs is optional; I like it as it gives a much nicer crust and crunch)

Repeat for all your pieces and place in the fridge for 30 mins.

Heat a non stick frying pan and add a large knob of butter plus a glug of olive oil.

Put each escalope gently into the pan meat side down, fry gently for 3 mins or until golden brown. Very gently, using a Platte knife if you have one, turn the escallops over and fry again for 3 mins.

When both sides are golden remove from the pan and place on a sheet of kitchen paper whilst you put your accompaniments on the plate