Pork Cotoletta & Tomatoes

For the cotoletta:

Remove the skin by teasing a paring knife under the skin and gently and with as many strokes as you need safely, calmly and gently slice the skin from the rack.

Generously salt the skin, then place between sheets of baking paper on a tray with a heavy tray on top also to keep it cooking evenly.

French trimming the rack isn’t essential and if I’m honest a bit of a waste of time and product. There are few food things in life that are more satisfying than gnawing the sweet, slightly bighty meat that surrounds the ribs. Be that as it may, this is your choice. Easiest way to French the bones is to first cut your cutlets by isolating where the rib bones are separated by placing the pork skin side down and cutting between the ribs to produce even size cutlets. depending on where on the rack your piece is from the distance may vary between ribs giving you different sized cutlets.

Cut any excess fat from each of your cutlets and reserve to render for the ultimate sautéing fat for vegetables, potatoes or even adding to sauces and jus for a richer more decadent sauce.

If you are French trimming your bones, run a paring knife safely around the base of each bone avoiding cutting into the eye of the meat and simply push/scrape the intercostal meat away and off the end of the rib bone.

With a meat mallet or a heavy based saucepan, place a sheet of clingfilm on your cutlet and gently and evenly flatten to about an inch or slightly less.

Have 3 trays ready to go with seasoned plain flour on the left (assuming you’re right handed), beaten whole eggs and a little milk in the middle and your breadcrumbs on the right.

With your left hand place the first cutlet into the flour and evenly coat on both sides. Shake off the excess flour and place into the egg mixture still using your left hand. Coat the cutlet on both sides (don’t worry abut the bone if you’ve decided to french the ribs) and shake any excess mixture off. Sometimes the flour stops the egg mixture form sticking so if this happens simply coat again in the egg mixture. place the cutlet in the bread crumbs and now use your right hand to evenly coat with crumbs and press them on well. Your left hand will remain wet through the process and your right dry.

In a shallow frypan that is the appropriate size for your cutlets place about an inch of veg oil and bring to approx 180 degrees c. any higher than this and the likelihood of your crumbs burning before the pork is cooked increases.

Quickly fry your salted capers till crispy and reserve on kitchen towel for garnish.

Fry pork cotoletta on both sides until your crumb is golden brown and crispy. If in doubt as to your doneness a thermometer is your best friend. The meat near the bone will be the last to cook and this needs to be at about 50 degrees c.

If your crumbs are perfect but meat a little under simply transfer your cutlets to an oven tray with a rack and place in a 180 degree c oven, until done

Place your cutlets on a tray with kitchen towel and season with salt immediately. Remember fried food LOVES salt.

For the tomatoes:

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees c. Core and halve tomatoes and pick basil leaves.

Keep only the leaves you wish to add to the finished sauce keeping in mind the sauce will take on an intense basil aroma flavour even if no leaves are added at the end. Lay the basil stalks on the base of an oven tray and lay tomatoes cut side down.

Roast for 20 minutes, or as long as it takes for the skins to release from the flesh. Remove from oven and while still hot pinch the skins off the tomatoes.

1. Sauté sliced onions and garlic in olive oil till soft but without getting any colour. Add tomatoes and any liquid that has come out during the roasting process

Sauté sliced onions and garlic in olive oil till soft but without getting any colour. Add tomatoes and any liquid that has come out during the roasting process.

At this point you can add chicken stock or simply cook till you’re happy with the flavour and consistency. There is no right or wrong for this one. This is a choose your own adventure from this point. Add a little white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar, torn basil leaves and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

I always make too much of this sauce, on purpose. This makes an amazing pasta sauce, addition or white fish dishes or as the basis for soups and risotto. There is no way on earth any excess will go to waste. You can even add sugar and vinegar to transform it into a relish style condiment.

Next choice is to blend or not to blend. This is your call!

Add a generous amount of sauce to a bowl and serve alongside pork cotoletta that has been sliced and topped with fried capers and broken pieces of crispy pork skin.