Friday, June 09, 2006

Paper Chef #18

Although I'll be judging this month's Paper Chef, hosted by Kevin from Seriously Good, I just couldn't resist, those ingredients beckoned me.

Veal, Rocket, Strawberries and Simple Syrup probably wouldn't be considered as ingredients you'd use together, although lovers of bacon, blueberries, maple syrup and pancakes would probably disagree!

The veal and rocket seem to be a natural match but something was missing - the void was filled with a soft Goat Cheese. Likewise, the strawberries and syrup go together but it needed something else - that something came in the form of Balsamic Vinegar.

So what was I going to do?

Combine the strawberries, syrup and balsamic vinegar to create a sweet-sourish jam to serve with a veal roll stuffed with rocket and goat cheese. I then decided to add a little more crunch to the dish as I didn't quite like the look of the plain rolls, I decided on crumbing them and serve them as an appetiser.

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Rocket & Goat Cheese stuffed Veal Rolls

Veal scallopine, pounded to an even thickness
fresh rocket leaves
goat cheese
sifted plain flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
fine breadcrumbs

Cut the veal scallopine after it's been flattened to rectangles about 10x8cm in size.

With the longest side towards you, put a generous amount of goat cheese along this side, a little in from the long edge. Gather the rocket leaves and fold them into a tight bundle before placing them onto the goat cheese. Pick up the long side and begin to form a tight roll, you want it to overlap a little to create a better seal.

Once all the rolls are made, carefully dust them lightly in plain flour. This will help the egg and breadcrumbs to stick better.

Dip the roll into the lightly beaten egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs, make sure you get a coating over the ends. Once you've done this to all the rolls, then repeat - dip in egg and then roll in breadcrumbs. Cover and place in the fridge for an hour - this just helps to keep it all together when you cook it.

In a frypan, add a little oil and a knob of butter. When butter has dissolved and sizzling add the rolls - don't overcrowd the pan as you want them to sauté and not steam. Roll them to lightly brown all sides and when done place on a paper towels to remove any excess oil.

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Serve them hot, cut in half, so you can see the lovely oozing goat cheese with the balsamic strawberry jam served on the side.


Balsamic Strawberry Jam

4 strawberries, diced
2 tablespoon simple syrup (made with 1 part sugar and 1 part water)
1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste if desired

In a small saucepan, add the diced strawberries and syrup and cook over a low heat until the strawberries have softened. Add the balsamic vinegar and with a fork, squash some of the strawberries as this helps to thicken the final product. Taste and adjust the seasoning if required. If you want something with a bit more kick then some finely ground pepper will provide the necessary heat.

Cool before serving.

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2 comments

  1. looks great.

    Question, how did you seal off the ends so neatly? It looks like a perfect egg roll. how were you able to fold up the veal like that?

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  2. The secret is in how you do the stuffing and to make the roll as tight as possible with the least amount of overlap. Try to keep the filling within the width of the roll and when you roll it tightly it forms a more solid structure. Then when you dip in the breadcrumbs after the eggwash, make sure you stand the roll on it's ends and ensure those are well coated with breadcrumbs. Also give it time to chill in the fridge - that helps the breadcrumbs stay solid against the meat. When you cook it, tip it on each end to sear those off as well and you should find that it keeps that solid cylindrical shape.

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