Cachopo Asturiano

Ingredients

• 4 thin veal escalopes, about 120 g each, beaten to 3 mm
• 4 slices jamón serrano
• 150 g Asturian mountain cheese or a good melting cheese such as Gruyère, thinly sliced
• 100 g plain flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 200 g coarse dried breadcrumbs
• 800 ml sunflower or mild olive oil, for frying
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 300 g potatoes, cut into chips, to serve
• 4 padrón or piquillo peppers, to serve

Before you cook

• Lay each escalope between two sheets of cling film and beat it out with a rolling pin until it is about three millimetres thick and even.
• Season the escalopes on both sides with salt and pepper.
• Set out three shallow trays holding the flour, the beaten eggs and the breadcrumbs.
• Slice the cheese thinly so it melts quickly in the short frying time.

Steps

1. Lay one escalope flat on a board and cover it with two slices of serrano ham, leaving a clear two-centimetre border all round.
2. Spread half the sliced cheese over the ham, keeping well inside that border.
3. Place a second escalope on top and press the edges together firmly with your fingertips to seal the parcel.
4. Press all round the rim with the tines of a fork to lock the seal, then build the second cachopo the same way.
5. Dip each parcel in the flour and shake off the excess so only a thin coating remains.
6. Pass it through the beaten egg, letting the surplus drip back into the tray.
7. Press it firmly into the breadcrumbs on both sides and on the edges until it is completely covered.
8. Repeat the egg and breadcrumb stages a second time for a crust that holds the cheese in.
9. Chill the coated cachopos on a tray for fifteen minutes so the crust sets.
10. Heat the oil in a deep wide pan to 170C, testing with a cube of bread that should brown in about forty seconds.
11. Lower one cachopo into the oil and fry it for four minutes, spooning hot oil over the top.
12. Turn it over and fry for another three to four minutes until the crust is deep golden all over.
13. Lift it onto a rack set over kitchen paper and fry the second one the same way.
14. Rest each cachopo for two minutes, then cut it in half so the cheese pulls, and serve with chips, fried peppers and lemon wedges.