Thyme and polenta breaded beef escalopes

Show ingredients

Meat mains

Thyme and polenta breaded beef escalopes

Main Serves 4 10 min
Escalopes are a quick and simple dinner to make. This version uses beef escalopes wrapped in a thyme and polenta crust, flash-fried for a speedy dinner. Use polenta with a rice or gluten-free flour to coat for a gluten-free option, but semi-dried breadcrumbs work just as well. Serve with seasonal veg and mashed potato or a vegetable risotto made with odds and ends from your veg box.

Cook's notes

You can use pork or rose veal for this dish, or make a chicken version stretching two chicken breasts to serve four by slicing across to make 4 thinner pieces, beaten out between sheets of clingfilm using a meat mallet or rolling pin. If using poultry or pork, make sure the escalopes are fully cooked through; you can whack them in the oven for 5 mins or so once they're fried and golden just to make sure.

Ingredients

  • 1 large egg, 2 if small
  • 4 tbsp plain or rice flour
  • 100g polenta
  • 50g parmesan, grated
  • 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, or 2 tsp dried
  • 4 beef escalopes
  • oil for frying e.g. sunflower
  • salt and pepper

Method

Prep time: 5 min
Cooking time: 5 min

  • Step 1

    Put the flour onto a plate and mix with a little salt and pepper. Crack the egg(s) into a shallow bowl and beat white and yolk together. In a separate shallow bowl, mix the polenta, parmesan and thyme leaves.

  • Step 2

    Coat the escalopes first in the flour, then the egg, then the polenta mixture to coat them.

  • Step 3

    Heat a thin layer of oil in a large frying pan. Add the coated escalopes and fry them on a medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side, until lightly golden and crisp.