A Dish Worthy of a Michelin Starred Restaurant – Maybe!

Years ago, Tim, my husband, went out for a business dinner to a Michelin starred restaurant and came back raving about the meal he had had. It was “Pork Catalina” according to the menu and he described it as a pork steak with cheese and ham coated in breadcrumbs. I have made this now and then since then and always thought of it as “Pork Catalina”. However, having looked it up, it is clear that this is not what it is, as Catalina is a sauce or a marinade. So, I have renamed as an Escalope, which doesn’t quite sound as nice but it is still remarkable tasty, if a bit of a fiddly to make!

Pork Escalopes with Cheese and Ham

Ingredients.

2 Pork Loin Steaks
2 Slices of Ham
2 Slices of Cheese
2 tbsp flour
1 egg
100g breadcrumbs
Oil to use for frying

Method.

1. Put the flour, the whisked egg and the breadcrumbs into 3 separate bowls with a fork for each.
2. Layer the Ham onto the Pork Steak and then put the Cheese onto the top of that.
3. Coat the Pork, Ham and Cheese with flour initially, shake of any excess.
4. Then coat with the egg.
5. Carefully lift the layers together and coat with the breadcrumbs.
6. Fry the coated Escalopes gently for about 15 – 18 minutes to ensure it is cooked all the way through.
7. Serve with new potatoes and vegetables of your choice.

Where I come from we would call this a “clat” to get ready. Which means fiddly or awkward. It is certainly awkward to try and keep the ham and the cheese in place while you are adding the various coatings. But it is definitely worth it, it tastes delicious. If you like, you can add some grated lemon peel and herbs to the breadcrumbs to give it a little extra tang to the taste. I have also used bacon instead of the ham and this is a very tasty alternative. You only need 1 slice of back bacon between the 2 steaks.