Recipes by Ingrid Pitt: Beef Roulades; Suckling Pig

Ingrid Pitt's Beef Roulades

2 lbs. top grade beef round, cut one-half inch thick
Small clove garlic, optional
Salt, freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup cooked ground meat (can be leftover beef, veal or chicken)
1/4 cup breadcrumbs soaked in few tsps. milk
Handful minced parsley
Medium-size yellow onion, chopped
Small sour pickle, chopped
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
Pinch allspice
1 small ripe tomato, peeled and chopped (or few tbsps. tomato paste)
About 1 1/2 cups dry red wine (or cranberry juice)

1. Cut meat into six pieces each measuring about 3 by 4 inches; pound steak to flatten. Rub meat lightly with garlic; season with salt and pepper.

2. Prepare filling by mixing ground leftover meat with breadcrumbs, parsley, onion, pickle, eggs, allspice, salt and pepper to taste. Spread mixture on each steak; roll and tie each steak with cord.

3. Grease bottom of a large skillet (or Dutch oven) with butter (or vegetable oil). Brown rolls quickly on both sides. Transfer roulades to baking dish (or use Dutch oven), deglazing pan with a little water. Add to casserole. Mix tomato (or tomato paste) with wine (or cranberry juice); pour over rolls in casserole. Cover, cook in preheated 350 degree F. oven about 45 mins. (or until meat is tender). Remove roulades to warm platter. Make gravy from pan drippings, thickening with seasoned flour if needed. Serve roulades with an assortment of hot vegetables (glazed pearl onions, butter-browned mushroom caps, baby carrots, cauliflower flowerets, new peas or potato puffs). Serves 6.

Ingrid Pitt's Suckling Pig

For the dressing:
5 lbs. sage-flavored pork sausage
1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds
6 tbsps. pickled walnuts, chopped (available in gourmet shops)
6 cups toasted bread crumbs
3 beaten eggs
1/2 tsp. ground thyme
Ground sage to taste
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Saute sausage over low heat until crumbly and moist, stir often. Drain, discard excess fat; cool sausage. Add almonds, pickled walnuts, bread crumbs, eggs, thyme, sage, salt and pepper. Use sage, salt and pepper sparingly.

For the pig:
One cleaned, drawn suckling pig, weighing about 13 lbs.
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Half of a cut lemon
One stick of melted butter

1. Scald and scrub suckling pig; dry well inside and out with paper towels. Rub inside cavity with salt, pepper and sage.

2. Stuff cavity lightly with dressing but avoid packing as dressing swells as it cooks. With sharp instrument, punch holes one inch apart through the stomach flaps. Close opening by sewing drawing thread through the holes shoelace-fashion.

3. Truss pig by pulling front feet forward, tieing with soft cord. Pull hind feet backward if there's oven room (or pull legs forward). Fill mouth with ball of crushed aluminum foil to hold open during roasting. Curl tall; secure in place; cover ears with caps made from aluminum foil. Rub entire surface of skin with cut lemon; season outside well with salt and freshly ground pepper. Place pig on large sheet of heavyweight aluminum foil; overlap across back; fold up around head and ears. Place on baking sheet; bake in preheated 450 degrees F. oven about 2 1/2 hrs. (or until meat is tender). Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees F.; open aluminum foil cover, pull back edges so pig is exposed.

4. Baste well with melted butter. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. and roast about 1 hr. longer. During last 30 mins. remove caps from ears and tail to crisp and brown skin; baste often during the last hour.

5. Carefully slide pig onto serving platter; remove lacing and ties. Remove ball of foil from mouth; replace with small ripe red apple (or lemon). Decorate eyes with raisins, prunes or cranberries; string a necklace of greens (parsley or fern) or fruit (kumquats or cranberries) around the neck.

6. To serve hot, carve pig starting at center, cutting down through. Make gravy from pan drippings or serve with side dish of lemon chutney as desired. Serves 8.

7. To serve cold, allow pig to cool completely then brush with glaze made from brown sugar and butter (or gelatin dissolved in water). Decorate platter with turnip roses (made by carving peeled turnips into rose shapes and soaking them overnight in cold water colored with yellow or red fruit coloring), parsley, and tomato wedges. Slice as directed above. Dressing is excellent hot or cold.