Mini stuffed pork roulades

Today: a real treat for the palate and a truly sophisticated dish!  Mini pork roulades stuffed with tarragon-marinated prunes and camembert, wrapped in prosciutto ham and served with a spicy wine sauce.  The pork is really soft and tender and goes very well with the moist and sweet prunes, rich camembert and salty cured ham.  Each bite just melts in your mouth!  The thick wine sauce is essential - it adds the spice, and also gives the dish a festive touch.

BE WARNED - there is quite a lot of work involved in making 20-30 petite rolls!!!  First, you have to slice your pork tenderloin, and tenderize each slice with a meat hammer, until really thin - almost transparent.  Watch out not to make any holes!  Second, you have to marinate the prunes, slice the prosciutto in thin strips and dice your camembert. Third, stuff and roll your roulades -- that's where the fun starts, but it takes some time.  Fourth, you wrap each roll in the ham and secure with a toothpick, if necessary.  Finally - pan-fry the rolls, until the ham is crisp and the meat nice and tender.  

And let's not forget you need to make the sauce too.  And a salad.  And baked potatoes.  So if you want a quick fix dinner - forget this and just bake some fish.  

Stages of preparation:

The roulades are just packed with flavors and spices.  Prunes and camembert are sometimes paired with meat, but the surprise ingredient here is gingerbread spice.  It is added not only to the sauce, but also to the prune stuffing.  Nonetheless, if you don't know it's in there, you would not guess it; all it does is elevate the taste of the meat -- it does not give it a gingerbread-cookie kind of flavor.  Gingerbread spice works very well with the other seasoning added - tarragon and tangerine zest.  These three spices complement each other, but also balance the overall flavors.

The dish is best served with a fresh salad and baked potatoes.  It goes very well with a rich, smokey red wine.

Making these mini roulades is a great idea for the coming holidays -- Thanksgiving or Christmas.  It's very elegant and festive, which makes it well-suited for special occasions.  Also the particular spice combination strikes a very festive note.  When preparing the sauce, your house is filled with the most welcoming and delicious aroma.  Every single person in your home will be drawn into the kitchen: intrigued and instantly very hungry and impatient to try some of the sauce (which is great on its own too).

I made this dish for the first time when preparing for the Flemish TV show "Come dine with me" ("Komen Eten").  I have made it several times since then for family and friends.  As it has always been received with the highest praise from my guests, I plan to add to my top recipes list, and make it on special occasions.  Highly recommended!

  

METHOD

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

Roulades:

• Pork tenderloin of about 500-600 g
• 150 g prunes, pitted
• approx. 80 g camembert
• approx. 200 g dry-cured ham in thin slices (prosciutto, jamón serrano etc.)
• 1 big tbsp butter, very soft or melted
• 2 tsp dried tarragon
• 1 heaped tsp gingerbread spice
• 2 tbsp of non-sweetened plum marmalade or spread (typically Polish "powidla" can be bought in any Polish store)
• zest of 1/2 tangerine
• freshly ground pepper

• additional oil and butter for frying

Sauce:

• 2 glasses (400 ml) of dry red wine (I recommend the Carménère variety)
• 8 tbsp of non-sweetened plum marmalade or spread (typically Polish "powidla" can be bought in any Polish store)
• 4 tsp gingerbread spice
• zest of 1 tangerine
• freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Roulades:

• Trim the excess fat off the pork tenderloin.  Cut it in 1,5 cm pieces, and tenderize with a meat hammer (best to cover the meat with cling film first).  You need thin, almost transparent pieces, but make sure not to make holes.  Season each slice with pepper.
• Cut the prunes in half, and place in a bowl.  Add the butter, tarragon, gingerbread spice, plum marmalade and tangerine zest.  Stir thoroughly.
• Dice the camembert in small pieces.
• Cut the ham in thin, long strips.
• Put 2-3 pieces of prune and a piece of camembert on the pork and roll into a roulade.  
• Wrap the roulade in the cured ham.  You can secure the rolls with a tooth pick, but usually it's not necessary.
• Heat oil in a large frying pan, once hot place the roulades in the pan.  Add some butter. Fry around 4 minutes on each side, then gently remove the toothpicks and fry the sides until nice and brown.  It's good to start with a high heat, and then lower it, when frying each side.
• Serve with the sauce.

Sauce:

• Mix all the ingredients and let simmer on a small heat for about 1h - 1h30, stirring occasionally.
• Serve hot with the roulades.

The recipe comes from the Polish website Kwestia Smaku.

Bon appetit!