Rolled Pork Stuffed with Plums

The original title of this recipe from Jamie Oliver’s Happy Days cookbook was really long and so I decided to shorten it. Despite it’s name, this dish tastes amazing. So amazing in fact, that I’ve decided to call it one of my favourites. The pork is steamed so there is no fat. The sweetness of the plum sauce and the flavour of the anise go perfectly with fresh, thinly sliced spring onions and the neutral succulent pork. The combination of flavours are beautiful and it looks so lovely on the plate that it’s dinner party respectable. Just double or triple the recipe.

Serves 2

3 Ripe Plums

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 Star Anise
2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, peeled and finely grated

2 cloves

2 heaping tablespoons of brown sugar

2 Pork Cutlets

salt and ground pepper

1 small handful of parsley or cilantro, washed and chopped

Spring onions

Soy Sauce

Wash the plums, then run a knife around them, twist them and remove the pits. Cut into halves and then into 1/2 inch dice. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the star anise, ginger and cloves for 1 minute. Add the plums and sugar with a couple tablespoons for water, place a lid on, and simmer slowly for about 20 minutes until chunky and pulpy. Allow to cool in the fridge.

Take you pork, trim off any fat and bash it between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. When each piece is the thickness of about 2 beer coasters, lay it on a pan.

Season the plum sauce and stir in half the parsley. Smear the sauce in the middle of each piece of pork. Spread it out slightly so that the sauce covers about three-quarters of each slice and roll each one up like a jelly roll. Put the rolls in your steamer (or like me, my enamel colander over a pot of simmering water) and cover with aluminum foil. Steam over simmering water for about 10 to 15 minutes until the meat is just cooked. Remove from the steamer and serve the pork rolls on a bed of finely sliced spring onions, sprinkled with the rest of the parsley and doused with soy sauce and any left over plum sauce.