Showing posts with label San Daniele. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Daniele. Show all posts

Sunday, 6 October 2013

Pork roulade with prosciutto and sausage: PDO Cookery Challenge, part III

You might remember reading earlier that I was recently invited to take part in a PDO Cookery challenge, competing against nine other popular food bloggers. The challenge involved cooking with two Italian Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) products: Grana Padano cheese and prosciutto di San Daniele. The products arrived in a wicker hamper with some cooking equipment and a press release with recipe ideas and background information.
"The "PDO - The taste of origin and tradition" campaign, launched in partnership with the Consortium of Prosciutto di San Daniele and the Consortium of Grana Padano Cheese, is designed to promote PDO products. Now in its third and final year, and funded by the EU and Italian government, it is focused on sharing the unique qualities & characteristics of these products in the UK and raising awareness of what PDO status means".

This recipe - Pork roulade with prosciutto and sausage - is my third and final entry for the challenge.

It all started with a bit of a trouble, as instead of a 1.75kg piece of pork, Tesco delivered a double amount, which I only discovered later, once I started unpacking. I wasn't planning to cook for an army, so had to cut the piece of meat in two. Why do they never-ever get it right, I don't know.






Pork roulade with prosciutto and sausage
Ingredients:
1.600kg shoulder of pork, boned
2 sausages (pork & Bramley apple)
3 slices of prosciutto
50g Grana Padano, grated
125g cooked basmati rice (1 pouch of Tilda Kids sunshine rice)
1tbsp ground almonds
1 small shallot, finely chopped
a bunch of basil, chopped, about 15g
1tbsp olive oil
salt, freshly ground pepper



Open the boned shoulder of pork and season well. If the skin is not scored, score it before adding the stuffing. In a small bowl mix the skinned sausage meat with the ground almonds, chopped shallot, grated Grana Padano, chopped basil, cooked basmati rice (Tilda sunshine rice has pieces of pumpkin, sweet corn and carrot among other flavours) and mix well.
Place the slices of prosciutto inside the open shoulder of pork, slightly overlapping each other. Place the sausage mix on top. Roll the shoulder, and tie with a string.
As you might notice from the photos, I used a ribbon, as I have run out of the string. So, my pork roulade looked a bit unconventional.
Pour the oil over the pork once you place it in a roast dish, and using hands, make sure the oil is spread all over the meat. Season again.
Place the tray in the oven preheated to 200C. Cook for 35 minutes per every pound of weight. Turn it over a couple of times, so that the meat gets crispy evently, then you will have lovely crunchy crackling.
Serve with the roast potatoes, baked apples and a dollop of the quince jam or jelly. Apple sauce or apple jelly is another tasty alternative.



I have recently discovered an innovative and inspiring producer of jams and chutneys called The Artisan Kitchen, and having browsed their online shop, placed an order. It was a tough choice, as the jams and marmalades look absolutely stunning. I love the quince jams and jellies, and make my own. Sadly this year, I haven't been able to get my hands on any quinces.
Gloucester Quince & Lime Jam from The Artisan Kitchen is a true winner. It tastes exactly like a homemade jam/jelly should taste like. The colour is gloriously claret rich, sparkling like a ruby. And it tastes heavenly.



If you missed my previous PDO cookery challenge posts, you can catch up, just follow the links:
Crespelle with spinach and prosciutto
and
Sea bass with prosciutto and crispy sage



Disclosure: I received a hamper of PDO products to take part in the cooking challenge. All opinions and ideas are mine. 
For more information on these products including recipes from the renowned chef Giancarlo Caldesi, visit Prosciutto di San Daniele and Grana Padano.
For more information on the PDO programme, please visit
Ec.Europa.Eu site


Cooking with Herbs

Saturday, 28 September 2013

Sea bass with prosciutto and crispy sage: PDO Cookery Challenge, part II

Chicken Saltimbocca is one of our family favourites. Saltimbocca means "jumps in the mouth" in Italian and is a popular Italian dish, where meat (typically veal or chicken) is wrapped in prosciutto with sage leaves tucked under it. But did you know you could also use the fish to make a Saltimbocca? I have tried this recipe with the salmon in the past, but for the PDO Cookery Challenge I decided to use a different kind of textured fish - a sea bass with prosciutto and crispy sage.


Just yesterday I mentioned that I was recently invited to take part in a PDO Cookery challenge, competing against 9 other popular food bloggers. 
For the challenge I got a hamper with the Italian Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) products: Grana Padano cheese and prosciutto di San Daniele.

"The "PDO - The taste of origin and tradition" campaign, launched in partnership with the Consortium of Prosciutto di San Daniele and the Consortium of Grana Padano Cheese, is designed to promote PDO products. Now in its third and final year, and funded by the EU and Italian government, it is focused on sharing the unique qualities & characteristics of these products in the UK and raising awareness of what PDO status means".

I often buy prosciutto, and use it for many dishes, for example, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus with the black olive tapenade, or grilled in piadina with cheese (as piadina could be quite pricey, use the supermarket own flatbreads like tortilla wraps, Sainsbury's tortilla wraps are perfect for a quick lunch, just chuck in a slice of prosciutto, add some sliced cheese, like Jarlsberg or Gouda, fold in half, grill and enjoy.




Sea bass with prosciutto and crispy sage
Ingredients:
2 sea bass fillets (about 185g)
2 slices of prosciutto
2tbsp olive oil
6 sage leaves
salt
a squeeze of lemon juice + lemon wedges to serve with

Wrap each sea bass fillet in a slice of prosciutto and quickly fry in a pan with the olive oil, cook them over a medium to high heat for about 5 minutes. Turn the fillets halfway through cooking, and squeeze some lemon juice over the fish.
I decided not to tuck the sage leaves under the prosciutto but fry them in the olive oil to make them go crispy. It takes a couple of minutes for the sage leaves to get crispy.





For the mashed sweet potato:
1 big sweet potato (400g)
1tsp butter
a dash of milk
30g Grana Padano, grated

Cook the sweet potato in a saucepan of salted boiling water for 15 minutes until tender. Drain, mash the sweet potato, add a blob of butter, grated Grana and a dash of milk, mix well.



Serve the sea bass with the mashed sweet potatoes on the side and with the scattered crispy sage leaves.




For more recipes and ideas have a look at my previous posts:
Peaches and pears with prosciutto di San daniele and Grana Padano cheese ( recipe by Giancarlo Caldesi)
Fit Chicken Saltimbocca
and
Crespelle with spinach and prosciutto: PDO Cookery Challenge, part I.


Disclosure: I received a hamper of PDO products to take part in the cooking challenge. All opinions and ideas are mine. 
For more information on these products including recipes from the renowned chef Giancarlo Caldesi, visit Prosciutto di San Daniele and Grana Padano.
For more information on the PDO programme, please visit
Ec.Europa.Eu site.

If you are curious to find out what the other bloggers cooked for the challenge, check out their blogs
An Italophile (lush homemade pasta!)
and Mummy Fever (delicious chicken stuffed with asparagus tips and wrapped in prosciutto)

Friday, 27 September 2013

Crespelle with spinach and prosciutto: PDO Cookery Challenge, part I

I love pancakes, sweet and savoury, in all their glorious varieties like blini, crespelle, crepes, palacinky, oladushki and many more. I'm happy to eat them for breakfast or dinner, they are incredibly versatile and pretty easy to make. Today's recipe is inspired by the Italian pancakes that I have tried in the past and thoroughly enjoyed: Crespelle with spinach and prosciutto.


I was recently invited to take part in a PDO Cookery challenge, competing against 9 other popular food bloggers. For the challenge I was provided with two fantastic Italian Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) products: Grana Padano cheese and prosciutto di San Daniele. The products arrived in a lovely hamper with some cooking equipment and a press release with recipe ideas and background information.

"The "PDO - The taste of origin and tradition" campaign, launched in partnership with the Consortium of Prosciutto di San Daniele and the Consortium of Grana Padano Cheese, is designed to promote PDO products. Now in its third and final year, and funded by the EU and Italian government, it is focused on sharing the unique qualities & characteristics of these products in the UK and raising awareness of what PDO status means".

You might have heard Grana Padano to be called a poor man's parmesan, yet this cheese is a worthy competitor to parmesan.
Many Italian families prefer to have a block of Grana for everyday use, for example, my Italian mother-in-law often offers "un po di grana" when she serves pasta.
It has been invented by monks around 1,000AD to use the excess milk. The name "grana" refers to its grainy texture.
It is less expensive than parmesan, but is as versatile.




Crespelle with spinach and prosciutto (makes 4)
Ingredients:
For pancakes:
2 medium eggs
125ml milk
a pinch of salt
115g plain flour
20g butter for frying
For filling:
120g fresh spinach
2 small shallots, finely chopped
1tbsp olive oil
120g mozzarella (drained weight)
30g Grana Padano + more for sprinkling on top (grated)
4 slices of prosciutto



First make the pancakes (crespelle) by pouring the milk into a bowl with the eggs and a pinch of salt. Beat together, add the flour and mix until you have a smooth batter.
Heat up the pancake pan and add a bit of butter (either brush with the melted butter, or take a stick of butter and quickly run over the inside of the pan.
Pour a ladleful of batter, it has to cover the pan evenly. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side, turning it with a spatula. As the crespelle cook, place them one on top of the other on a plate.



Prepare the filling by chopping the shallots finely and frying them in a pan with the olive oil. After a couple of minutes, add the spinach. Saute for another couple of minutes, until the spinach is wilted. Set aside, and once the spinach is not hot anymore, mix it with the cubed mozzarella and grated Grana.
Place a slice of prosciutto on top of each pancake (crespelle) and add one quarter of the filling. roll the pancakes. Put them in a deep ceramic dish or baking dish, which has been slightly buttered. Place the dish in the oven preheated to 180C and reheat for about 10 minutes. Take the dish out and sprinkle more grated cheese on top before serving.




If you are short of time, use the ready-made pancakes, just make sure they are not the sweet variety.

Disclosure: I received a hamper of PDO products to take part in the cooking challenge. All opinions and recipe ideas are mine.
For more information on these products including recipes from the renowned chef Giancarlo Caldesi, visit Prosciutto di San Daniele and Grana Padano.
For more information on the PDO programme, please visit
Ec.Europa.Eu site.

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