AUTUMNAL MEAT ROLLS WITH GRAPE & POMEGRANATE

Today’s recipe is a little ode to autumn, with its sweet and sour fruits. Fruits that reflect the taste of this season, which lulls us into the winter quietness while still giving some afternoon of sun and short sleeves. An easy and striking recipe, with seasonal fresh fruit and bacon to warm the heart, a dish that is impossible not to adore.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

• 8 pork loin steaks
• A bunch of white grapes
• 1 pomegranate
• 100 grams of bacon
• Rosemary, thyme, sage, black pepper, salt q.s.
• extra virgin olive oil, butter q.s.

Matching soundtrack: Let me down easy, Paolo Nutini

PROCESS

Tenderize the meat with a meat tenderizer (I’m the queen of obvious you might say), mash the herbs with pepper, salt (not overdo) and a drizzle of olive oil in a mortar, then season the meat slices with the mix of flavours just prepared.

Now wash the grapes, dry and cut every grape in half, taking care of the dental health of your guests removing the seeds. Place in one end of the steak two pieces of grapes, rolled up a bit and put on the meat two another grapes, roll to close and proceed as well until 8 rolls. Now you’ll have to “tie” with bacon: take a strip and wrap the roll in the middle (I used two bacon strip for each roll, so you will not need the kitchen string).

Put to heat a little olive oil with a tablespoon of butter and stew the meat rolls turning them in all sides. Once roasted, continue cooking over low heat adding some grapes (without seeds) and turning them occasionally until they are cooked – I recommend you keep cooking with a lid.
Ten minutes will be enough if you cook meat slices of medium size, however the cooking time depends on the size of your rolls. Serve the meat with the cooked grapes and the meat juice, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

And that already will be enough to make an impression. But I’ve an addition to say: my most severe – but always constructive – food critic (Luca, my fiance), once tasted and judged with a “mmm taste good” has decreed that the dish would be improvable if the pomegranate was reduced to sauce instead of used alone. So, put it this way, if you need a quick&easy recipe you have no need to change the pomegranate seeds chemical-physical state from solid to liquid. If, otherwise, you arranged a chic dinner or if your boyfriend (as mine) has a refined palate, you have just to make a juice with pomegranate seeds, put the juice to heat in a pan adding a teaspoon of cornstarch to create a pomegranate creamy sauce. And they lived happily ever after.

Ph. Sara Cartelli
© The Eat Culture