Escalopes with lemon and rosemary

Serves 4

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 4–6 minutes

• 1 pork fillet (you can also use deboned pork neck or even deboned pork loin)

• 250 ml cake flour

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 2 eggs, whisked

• 120 g dried breadcrumbs

• zest of 2 lemons

• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped

• oil for shallow-frying

1 Trim the pork fillet and slice  into 5 cm-thick pieces. 

2 Butterfly each piece by slicing it down the middle  (but don’t cut completely through the meat) and folding it open. Place the meat between two pieces of cling film or greaseproof paper and flatten with a rolling pin until it is about 1 cm thick. Repeat with all the slices.

3 Season the flour with salt and black pepper in a plate. Pour the whisked eggs into a shallow bowl. In a separate shallow bowl or plate, season the breadcrumbs with the lemon zest and chopped rosemary.

30 minutes before cooking

4 Dip each pork slice in the flour, ensuring it is well-coated before dipping in the egg mixture and finally the breadcrumbs. Set aside and repeat with all the slices. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before frying – this allows the egg to harden and prevents the crumbs from falling off when the meat is fried. 

Into the pan!

5 Heat the oil in a pan and fry the escalopes on both sides over moderate heat for about 2–3 minutes until golden brown. Be careful not to overcook or the meat will be dry. Serve immediately with mashed sweet potatoes and a mushroom sauce if desired.

Tips

• If you cook pork properly and don’t overcook it, it will be flavourful, tender and juicy.

• Pork fillet can be cooked whole, cut into cubes for stews or sosaties and also makes the best schnitzels.