Recipe: Pork Involtini by John Quilter

INGREDIENTS:

8 slices pork loin 1/4 inch thick

For the stuffing:

150g bread crumbs

70g pecorino

1 finely diced medium white onion

8 chestnuts

4 slices of guanciale sautéed and diced (use streaky bacon as an alternative)

1 tbsp of chopped flat leaf parsley

2 tsp chopped sage

8 sage leaves for garnish

2 tsp chopped thyme

Salt

Pepper

1 egg whisked

8 slices of lardo (use 100g of butter instead)

Flour for dusting

70ml white wine

Allergens are marked in bold

Flatten out the pork between two pieces of grease proof paper using a rolling pin or meat hammer.

On a medium to low heat, place the lardo into a large sauté pan to begin melting. Once melted, add the diced onions and guanciale, cook until the onions are translucent and the meat is cooked.

Deglaze the pan with the white wine and allow the alcohol to cook off the liquor and allow the moisture to reduce by half until it is sumptuous. Finally, throw in the sage and thyme, incorporate and take off the heat. Next, remove the leftover lardo, finely dice it and return to the mixture.

Into this mixture now incorporate the breadcrumbs, herbs, seasoning, egg and finally crumble in the cooked chestnuts. The breadcrumbs will absorb the delicious fat from the lardo and guanciale and form your stuffing. If the mixture is a little wet add more breadcrumbs. Divide it into eight clumps.

Layer the stuffing on to the flattened pork loin, ensuring a ½ inch border is left. Fold in the sides of the pork covering the stuffing partly. Then roll up, keeping it all tight and firm. Add the sage leaves to the outside and then secure with two runs of string.

Very lightly sprinkle the pork bundles with some flour and then fry in butter until golden brown and then finish off at 180° C CircoTherm® for 8 minutes.